Lyssa
by JayTheLeo
Summary: Something dark, something sinister has come to ThunderClan in a single, fatal bite.
1. Once Upon a Malady

**_Lyssa_**

 _Once Upon a Malady…_

Moonpaw bounded after Meadowpaw along the stream, wetting her paws as she ran. Her fluffy silver tail was raised high in the air and her green eyes were mirthful. Meadowpaw was no different with a loud purr rumbling deep in her throat that was hard to miss.

"I'm gonna get you, Meadowpaw!" The apprentice bellowed, pushing herself as hard as she could without stumbling on the smooth stones.

"No you're not! I run like a rabbit!" Meadowpaw boasted, "You've never even caught a rabbit before!"

"Liar!" Moonpaw yowled playfully as she steadily gained on her friend.

Neither she-cat was aware of the threat that lurked on the sidelines of their game. The creature was stiff, her movements forced and choppy, but driven by a terrifying energy as she trotted through the bracken with a badger's elegance as she traced the young cats' figures with and unnaturally rapt, feral attention. A long pink tongue swiped over her muzzle; unlike those apprentices, she'd caught rabbits before.

"Na-uh!" Meadowpaw shrilly replied, shooting further forwards until Moonpaw could only hear the obnoxious snapping of sticks and the shuffling of bracken up ahead.

Moonpaw huffed at her pathetically slow running, but figured that Meadowpaw could only go so fast for so long and kept her pace. While she was never considered swift, Moonpaw had excellent endurance, which she found to be more useful in these sorts of situations; speed could only get a cat so far.

The predator knew it too even in her addled, hazy state of mind. Through her bloodlust, she managed to keep herself from immediately surging through the woods and seizing their throats into her eager jaws. Her tongue lapped at empty air and her breathing sounded labored, pained even, but she continued forward with deadly intent. As she clumsily stalked the oblivious apprentices, it became harder for her to swallow and most of her saliva came in thick, foamy strings down her mouth, flying back with her movements and matting into her ratty gray chest fur. She also stumbled from time to time during the chase, not that it put much distance between the cats and herself.

Moonpaw narrowed her eyes at Meadowpaw's distant form and decided to cut her off up ahead. She veered right, away from the predator, into the brambles, whipping through the thorny plants despite the tugging at her fur. Meadowpaw noticed as soon as she'd done it and slowed to a stop, panting and purring in satisfaction: she'd lost Moonpaw.

Meadowpaw shook out her fur from stray bracken and bramble tendrils that gripped her fur during the chase. A loud crunch and snap from the left grabbed Meadowpaw's attention, but she didn't seem concerned. She looked wryly in the direction of the noises. "I won already, Moonpaw. You can come out, I promise I won't make fun of how sluggish you are! Honestly, though, a RiverClan cat could outrun you, you ought to run more often." She said, casually sitting down to lick her paw, swiping it across her forehead to get a stubborn burr from her milky-white fur.

When Moonpaw didn't respond, Meadowpaw stopped cleaning herself and looked again in the direction of the noise. "Moonpaw? You there?" Meadowpaw asked, scenting the air for a trace of her friend.

Meadowpaw gagged, looking anxiously where she'd heard the sounds. She smelled something, but it wasn't Moonpaw, it was far fouler, like a dog, but different. She tensed and watched, her fur unconsciously fluffing out so she was nearly twice her size.

Though Meadowpaw knew the beast was there, the thing that was like a dog, but not, she still didn't, couldn't, anticipate its consequences.

It was a single, swift but uncoordinated bite to her hind leg.

 **Hi guys!** **First part of 'Lyssa' down!** **I know it's absurdly short, but it is the introduction.** **Normal chapters are usually around ten pages typed on Word, sometimes a little more or less.** **At some point, I'd like to make them fifteen-twenty pages a chapter, but I'm just going to take things slow and try to gradually work my way to that.**

 **Thanks for giving 'Lyssa' a chance, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story and give me feedback along the way!** **See you next time!**


	2. The Tingles

_Chapter 1:_

 _The Tingles_

It was terrible, tragic, and terribly tragic, that the relationship between ThunderClan and WindClan had been reduced to mere common decency. Quailstar and Runningstar could hardly look at each other anymore, and tensions were high and hot in gatherings and border patrols on the WindClan border. Thus far, no blood had been shed due to incredible self-control on both leaders' parts.

They were civil, barely, but acknowledged that the winds were becoming cold and the rain had become a dreadful sleet when it came. Leafbare was coming and had been proven many moons ago to be the worst season to start a war in: prey was scarce, illness was abundant, and herbs were practically non-existent.

Cedardapple admired both her own leader, Quailstar, and WindClan's own Runningstar. It was a nice change after the long, painful war between ThunderClan and ShadowClan over a territory dispute that'd happened when Cedardapple was a young apprentice. She lost a lot in that war, including her mother, brother, and very best friend. Not to mention, it took the final life of the former leader, Barkstar, and marked the beginning of Quailstar's leadership. ShadowClan's leader, Branchstar, had lost a life as well, but had several more to lose.

He watched the strained relationship between ThunderClan and WindClan developed with what seemed to be mild amusement, or nostalgia, Cedardapple didn't quite know. She assumed that as long as it didn't involve his clan, it didn't bother him. RiverClan's Swanstar seemed indifferent to the other clan problems, having witnessed ThunderClan's previous battle from afar moons ago, and didn't want her clan anywhere near the conflict that was building.

It was just _odd_ to Cedardapple to be quarreling with WindClan, who had been their ally for as long as Cedardapple could remember. Even in the battle with ShadowClan, Runningstar had offered to help despite the abnormally high fatality rate of the fight. All Cedardapple could guess was he didn't agree with Quailstar like he had with Barkstar.

The whole thing was just a shock, but that was apart of life. Things like that happened when they were least expected, like what had gone down with her daughter and Meadowpaw in the forest. It was bizarre, not that the cream-furred she-cat had been attacked by a dog, but because of the minimalistic injuries she'd sustained! Cedardapple still couldn't get over the whole thing even though it happened almost a whole moon ago. What dog only bites once?

Either way, she was grateful Moonpaw, her only daughter, hadn't been the one to be grabbed, how ever briefly, by the dog. Out of her three kits, Moonpaw seemed to be doing the best in her training, or was at least the most enthusiastic. Of course, Cedardapple still loved her sons, Nightpaw and Duskpaw, and took pride in them. Nightpaw was training alongside Moonpaw to be a warrior, and Duskpaw was the medicine cat's apprentice, but he didn't seem to enjoy it very much.

Sometimes, Duskpaw would come to her, asking if she'd be disappointed with him if he quit being the medicine cat's apprentice. He said he hadn't said anything to Brightfur, the medicine cat, yet, but had a feeling she already knew about his apprehension. Maybe she didn't know the extent of Duskpaw's dislike of his position, but she most certainly knew he wasn't entirely happy.

Duskpaw would go to Cedardapple.

Should I tell her I don't want to do this anymore?

It's not my choice, Duskpaw.

I really want to, but if I do, it'll crush her! She's been looking for an apprentice for so long and-

If you are not right for the position it's better she finds out now rather than later.

Yeah, but… you know, I'm just going to keep going.

Alright.

It was the same conversation each time he approached her. In all honesty, Cedardapple dreaded talking with her son because it was always about his disliking of being a medicine cat apprentice, or weighing the pros and cons of being a medicine cat apprentice:

Well I get to go to every gathering at least…

But I always have to go to gatherings, even if I don't want to.

If there's a battle, I won't have to get hurt.

But then am I really a member of ThunderClan if I don't defend the borders?

I won't ever have to compete with anyone else because eventually I'll be the only medicine cat.

But where's the fun in never beating anyone?

I won't have any kits to look after.

But maybe I'll want kits one day!

I'm guaranteed a top spot in clan hierarchy.

But would I really have earned myself that spot in the clan?

It was truly endless, and though she loved Duskpaw with all her heart, she tended to avoid him. Until he could make up his mind, Cedardapple could hardly stand to be around him. She focused most of her time around Nightpaw and Moonpaw instead, keeping her distance from Duskpaw as subtly as possible.

Nightpaw was nice to be around most of the time. Cedardapple knew he wasn't entirely happy either, but he managed a lot better than his brother. He wasn't very good at being a warrior, hardly ever managing to bring any prey back from hunting parties and never once winning a sparring match with another apprentice, but she never called him out on his failures.

The smoky-colored tom may not have been a good warrior apprentice, but he was certainly a charmer when he wanted to be. He was friends with every apprentice and most warriors in ThunderClan and had a record number of friends in other clans he'd made at gatherings. For a while, he'd scammed his mentor, Hollowflight, into thinking he was a marvelous hunter because he was able to convince a pretty young she-cat, Hazelpaw, to catch prey for him to bring back to camp. It wasn't until Hollowflight actually followed her apprentice on one of his hunting expeditions that she found him out.

Both Hazelpaw and Nightpaw had been punished, but the two stayed close nonetheless.

But Moonpaw, she was something. She was sociable and successful in her training, and, despite her grainy-gray fur and stocky figure, Cedardapple still thought her daughter was fetching. Moonpaw may not have been fast, but she made up for her lack of speed and heavy-footing with an impressive fighting prowess no one expected to see out of one of Cedardapple's seemingly lackluster litter.

Her paws were big and webbed like a RiverClanner's, which Cedardapple thought odd, and were phenomenal at smacking things around. She'd knocked her best friend, Meadowpaw, unconscious during a sparring session when one of her oversized paws hit at just the right speed on just the right spot. Moonpaw was a clumsy oaf with her paws, but they were still one of her better traits and Cedardapple was able to take some reluctant pride in them.

Cedardapple herself was very pretty: her fur was a short, soft golden-brown color, her paws and muzzle and chest were a pure white, and her eyes were a bright and happy blue. Her paws were small and dainty and she was light on her feet; a born huntress.

When she had her kits, she was sure at least one would look like her, but none did. They all looked like Smokepath, their soot-colored father. He was handsome enough and she was gorgeous, the whole clan expected the kits would be just as beautiful, but they weren't anything like their parents. For a while, there was a scandalous rumor around ThunderClan that the three mediocre kits weren't Cedardapple's, but it fizzled out by the time the three became apprenticed.

She considered having more, maybe with a different tom this time, but she wanted to see how the first batch turned out before she had another litter. It the three were complete failures, she'd have to try again to make the clan forget the three were hers and focus on them. If not, she decided she probably wouldn't have another litter. But then again, she'd always wanted a daughter that looked just as sweet and pretty as herself and a handsome, talented son that'd make other queens look at Cedardapple and wonder what she did right.

In the beginning, she had those hopes for her three, despite none looking a thing like herself, having other mothers' envy, but she was starting to give up. Yes, Cedardapple did love them, but they weren't what she wanted. Moonpaw would never be beautiful; Duskpaw would never be handsome; and Nightpaw would never be talented in anything besides being a liar. They weren't what she wanted.

When Duskpaw said he wanted to be a medicine cat, Cedardapple would admit she had a glimmer of hope that one of her kits would be something important, but now he was having second thoughts and would likely end up a huge disappointment. At first, she tried to steer Duskpaw in the direction that indicated he did in fact love being a medicine cat's apprentice, but now she didn't even try convincing him because he would never decide what he wanted. He was indecisive and bound to end up unimportant and it drove Cedardapple mad. He was the best hope she had of getting envy and congratulations from other cats and he was blowing it!

Admiddibly, Cedardapple had never had high hopes for her Nightpaw, but Moonpaw had so much promise. She used to in her eyes, but now she looked at her, gallivanting around playing games in the middle of the night and getting attacked by dogs, and she felt no hope in her stocky daughter either. Cedardapple was happy the dog had gotten Meadowpaw and not Moonpaw, she still loved her daughter, but had no real hopes for her any longer. Moonpaw seemed to have peaked and was on a downward slope in her eyes.

Thinking about her, she despaired. What tom would ever want her? She'd never have kits, she'd never be responsible, she'd never do anything! Moonpaw was doomed to a purposeless life.

The thought made her reconsider having more kits. What if they were just like her first litter? What if they were worse somehow? What if her first kits messed the second kits up? What if she has two litters who all go on to do nothing but meander, moan about their lives, and suffer in mediocrity? What would her mother have thought? What would she have done if she could see her daughter and her kits? She would be so ashamed of them, of Cedardapple for producing such boring cats destined for nothing!

"Cedardapple," a voice took Cedardapple from her horrible thoughts, "sit down, Branchstar's going to start talking."

Cedardapple blinked, her whiskers twitching as she came back from the recesses of her mind. She glanced around, horrified that she was among one of the only few cats still standing in the crowd. She quickly sat back on her haunches between Hazelpaw's mother, Rosewater, one of her dearest friends.

Had she still been deep in her self-pitying thoughts, Cedardapple may have complained about her friend's daughter. Rosewater was beautiful and elegant-looking and her daughter was just as lovely-looking. Why was her daughter pretty and Cedardapple's not?

Branchstar began speaking, keeping Cedardapple's mind from straying too far. She listened, somewhat grateful when the raspy sound of his voice brought her back to her apprentice-hood, freeing her from less than glamorous present. The same voice who was belting off the names of the most recent litter in his clan was the very one who threatened her clan, who ripped into her best friend's throat and left her to spill out in the clearing. The memories his voice evoked were all morbid and unpleasant, but Cedardapple relished in them. Terrible and heartbroken as they were, those days were her glory days.

It made her ponder if perhaps the impeding war between ThunderClan and WindClan would be similar, being someone else's glory days. Maybe, just maybe, the war would awaken some fighting spirit in Nightpaw and some light-footedness in Moonpaw and some pride in Duskpaw when he patched up clanmates. Or maybe it'd kill all three, physically or emotionally, Cedardapple wasn't sure she knew or cared. War matured cats; perhaps it'd teach her kits some sense of responsibility and mortality, keep them from prancing around and nearly getting mauled by dogs.

Cedardapple glanced nonchalantly at the friend beside her. When Meadowpaw was brought back, petrified with fear and dragging a stiff, bitten leg behind her, Rosewater wasn't angry with her. Rosewater was concerned, she didn't scold her for being so foolish, she comforted Meadowpaw. Her own mother wouldn't have been so kind to her if she'd gotten herself bitten and she wouldn't have been so kind to Moonpaw if it'd been her who got bit. It was unnatural and wrong.

Quailstar didn't even punish Meadowpaw! She was supposed to come to the gathering with Moonpaw, actually, but last-minute the cream-colored apprentice decided not to go. Said her leg was 'all tingly and stiff' and she wouldn't be able to keep up. That in itself was just ridiculous! The attack was far enough back where she should have been perfectly fine! Meadowpaw still went on a few hunting parties and border patrols! She was just being lazy, not wanting to walk all the way to the island. If that were Moonpaw, Cedardapple would've told her she was going, end of story, because you do what your leader says you're going to do.

Cedardapple blinked back into the meeting, somewhat irritated with her inability to focus that particular night. Moonpaw and Duskpaw were both at this gathering as well, she remembered, they better be behaving themselves.

Swanstar was speaking now. Cedardapple could tell because the tom next to her had straightened his posture. Swanstar was gorgeous, most RiverClanners were. Her water-proof fur was white, but she had black accents on her ears, tail, and muzzle, and looked plush even from the distance Cedardapple was scrutinizing her from. Her eyes were a bright amber that stood out in the milky gleam of the full moon. Her webbed paws were big, but not the clumsy and unfortunate sort of big like Moonpaw's were, they were just enough to be noticeable. Though her fur was plush and her paws were large, Swanstar still held an undeniable elegance that drew any cat around her in.

Her voice was lovely, like birdsong, as she too announced the last litter in RiverClan for the season. Cedardapple actually listened this time; they were called Lightkit and Lillykit.

Cedardapple expected Swanstar to finish swiftly and hand the spotlight to Quailstar or Runningstar. However, that didn't happen.

"Before I finish," Swanstar said, her meow changing from its light, pleasant tone, "I must inform you all that a border patrol found something rather peculiar earlier this moon that I feel I should warn you all about."

The other clan leaders looked curiously, some more guarded than others, probably anticipating an accusation by the pretty she-cat of ShadowClan or ThunderClan trespassing. Swanstar seemed to notice, but kept going.

"By the ThunderClan border, there was a body, not a cat of course," she assured when gasps sounded from the crowd below, her eyes widening a fraction, "But the thing is, my warriors didn't know what it was. They said it was like a dog, but different. It smelled sickly, too, something wasn't right about it. I went to see it myself and wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Whatever it was, it had pricked ears, a thick gray coat, yellow fangs, and it looked thin and malnourished. Something was clearly wrong with it, so I instructed RiverClan to not touch the body. I don't know if there are any more of these things out there or not, but either way, I wouldn't feel right if I didn't say anything." The RiverClanner stated firmly.

Cedardapple thought of Meadowpaw, the beast Swanstar described vaguely sounded like what Rosewater's daughter said attacked her. She said it was like a dog, but not. It peaked her interest, but not enough to pursue it; so long as the creature didn't directly affect her, she didn't care what it was or what it did.

There was a buzz around her, and as expected, Rosewater turned to her, eyes wide and somewhat alarmed. "Do you think that's what bit Meadowpaw?" She asked fretfully.

For the sake of the friendship, Cedardapple feigned interest. "I don't know, maybe."

Rosewater shook her head slightly, "I think it is, Cedardapple, she said it smelled weird and foul and she told me, she swore to me it was gray and it wasn't a dog, Cedardapple, she swore! That thing bit my daughter, I just know it!" She was wailing by the end, borderline hysterical.

"You don't think she's sick now, do you? Swanstar said it smelled sickly, surely something like a dog can't pass any sickness to a cat, right?" Rosewater asked, fearfully looking for answers in her dear friend.

Cedardapple flicked her tail dismissively, without thinking, but luckily for her, Rosewater didn't see it. "I'm sure she's fine, Rosewater. It's been over half a moon and the thing only bit her once, she's alright."

Rosewater shook her head again, this time more forcefully. "But she's not! She didn't come to the gathering because her leg felt funny!"

"Duskpaw told me she was fine, she's just overreacting, alright? My son is a medicine cat's apprentice, a dedicated one at that, if he says she's fine, than Brightfur says she's fine and she is fine." Cedardapple told her, hoping to build her son up and indirectly build herself up while making Rosewater calm down enough to stop talking to her.

Rosewater's ears flattened and her eyes tightly closed themselves as she fought to compose herself. "You're right, you're right, she's okay. Meadowpaw is okay." She said, more to herself than to Cedardapple.

The reddish she-cat looked like she was going to talk more to Cedardapple, but Quailstar spoke and stole her opportunity, much to Cedardapple's relief.

Quailstar nodded to Swanstar. "Thank you for the warning, Swanstar," He told her, not mentioning Meadowpaw's attack.

Cedardapple didn't notice the way his sharp, observant gaze subtly looked to Runningstar's perch. She wondered if he would have mentioned Meadowpaw if ThunderClan was on better terms with WindClan or if WindClan was just absent all together.

Quailstar talked more about the dog-beast, somewhat briefly, then quickly went over ThunderClan's affairs while he had the gathering's attention. Runningstar sulked a little about being last, making a comment on the dog-beast himself that Cedardapple hardly paid attention to, and went on to announce a pair of two new warriors: Honeyleaf and Sheeptail. The gathering cheered for the two, excluding the majority of ThunderClan, and the meeting came to a close without incident.

ThunderClan played nice with WindClan and WindClan played nice with ThunderClan. Cedardapple wasn't sure if she was pleased by the lack of excitement or irritated she wouldn't have anything to tell Dawnlight and Stormfoot, two of her other friends who hadn't gotten invited to the gathering.

Between the mediocrity of the gathering and the irritating inconsolable Rosewater, Cedardapple nearly wished she'd stayed behind with her friends and son.

 **First real chapter is done! Super excited for the next one, which will have us follow Nightpaw around for a while this time (if you hated Cedardapple, don't worry, I'm pretty sure she's not getting another chapter). But yep, stuff is going down next time so get ready!**

 **Review Responses:**

I-really-hope-not: Thanks for being my first reviewer! And thanks again, I hope it turns out to be a good story! Yeah, feel free to take a guess of what it is. With the cover in place, my biology-savvy readers should be able to see what it is without even clicking on the story!


	3. With Teeth

Chapter 2:

 _With Teeth_

The full moon was bright in the sky, its milky coloring engulfing any stars brazen enough to stray too close. Nothing could drown the moon's light, the trees were red and gold and balding, the barren branches doing little to filter the full moon. The thickets seemed to glow, somewhat eerily, casting odd shadows across ThunderClan's territory.

Quailstar's ban on going out at night, though at first strictly enforced, had been relaxed to the point where Nightpaw and Hazelpaw had been able to sneak out of camp without issue. Neither had been invited to the gathering that night. Hazelpaw liked going to the gatherings and sulked a little about it, but Nightpaw hated going to the gathering.

He was probably the only apprentice who dreaded them and he didn't even have a valid reason for loathing them. Nightpaw was simply self-centered, he hardly cared about the inner politics of even his own clan, so it was nearly impossible to get Nightpaw interested in the happenings of the other three. He supposed it was a little fun to talk to other cats from other clans, but even that failed to make a gathering worth his while. Hazelpaw, though, most of the time she didn't seem care about what was happening in the other clans either, but she did genuinely seem to like meeting other cats. However, there were times where Nightpaw had to wonder if Hazelpaw really was interested in the politics of clan meetings and was pretending not to because he himself had no interest in them. He pretended to like things for Hazelpaw on certain occasions, so it wouldn't surprise him if Hazelpaw did the same for him.

Nightpaw didn't want to think about if Hazelpaw would rather be at the gathering, staring wide-eyed in awe at the cats in the towering oak, inadvertently talking smack about each other. The thought lingered in the back of his mind, but he ignored it like he'd ignored Duskpaw's warning him not to sneak out before he'd left for the gathering.

He refused to stay inside the camp like some prisoner just because Meadowpaw wasn't smart enough to scent the air while she was outside. His sister's friend had always irritated him a little with how flighty and oblivious her personality was. Honestly, Nightpaw hadn't any clue how Moonpaw could stand being around a cat like Meadowpaw. Sure, she was sweet, but it was near-impossible to hold a conversation with the cream-colored apprentice.

But Hazelpaw, she was perfect. She was pretty, a simple pretty, with a smooth, plain gray coat and light green eyes that didn't attract too much attention. She wasn't afraid to break rules, she was quiet around others but loud around him and her other friends, and she was always willing to compromise. She didn't seem to like Meadowpaw very much either, but Nightpaw again couldn't tell if it was because he didn't like her or if it was because she herself didn't like flighty Meadowpaw. He would never ask, though.

Nightpaw kept one eye on Hazelpaw's graceful movements beside his own and the other focused on the path before him. He scented the air from time to time and he noticed that Hazelpaw did as well; nothing would be more humiliating than having the thing that bit Meadowpaw managing to sneak up on the both of them.

He wondered if Hazelpaw had an eye on him as well, but wasn't about to look for the subtle signs that she was because he didn't know how he'd feel if he knew. Whether she was or not in fact watching him, too, a pang of something negative (disappointment, anger?). He knew the rumors; one does not have a close friend of the opposite gender and not have other cats wonder if they were together or wanted to be, especially not at their age. Nightpaw just didn't know what Hazelpaw was to him. Sometimes he wondered if she was really his friend, seeing that she bent over backwards to gain his approval, or if he was really her friend seeing the way he dismissed her so easily. Perhaps he'd have a better idea of what she was if he knew what he was to Hazelpaw. But that wasn't something he wanted to figure out that particular night, so he kept pace and kept that eye on the gray she-cat.

Nightpaw wanted to say something to Hazelpaw, but doing so would mean his pace would probably have to slow and he didn't want that. Besides, Hazelpaw seemed content enough with the brisk silence between them.

Whatever he liked, she liked.

The two continued in silence, Hazelpaw blindly following Nightpaw as he wandered, trying to decide on a place to go. Nightpaw didn't stop for a while longer, waiting until the ramble of the river and the scent of reeds and water saturated his senses and the ground under-paw became soft and moldable. Hazelpaw didn't hesitate to stop the moment Nightpaw even started to slow down; Nightpaw tensed, she had, in a way, answered his earlier question.

Hazelpaw looked towards the scruffy dark tom expectantly. She sounded a little out of breath, "So, what now?"

Nightpaw shrugged, still somewhat unsettled by the realization that Hazelpaw had fine-tuned her pace to match his own perfectly. He scented the air once more, but smelled nothing more than the rushing river nearby. Beneath his flat, thin coat, his skin rippled at the temperature. It was an unusually warm night for late leaf-fall, but the water, mud, and thinning foliage seemed to make things colder.

Casually, Nightpaw sat down and began to clean his front paws, which were smattered with decaying leaves, while he thought of what to do next. Hazelpaw immediately looked down at her own paws, which were also covered in the fruits of leaf-fall, and began picking the slimy, broken leaves off as efficiently as she could. She seemed to glance at him every so often as she worked on her paws, as though wanting to be finished whenever he was.

Nightpaw didn't bother cleaning his back paws, preferring to clean those only in the security and privacy of his den. Even when his fronts were clear of any leaves, he continued to clean and scrape under his claws unnecessarily, just to observe his friend. Though he didn't want to know how she felt about him, who he was to her, Nightpaw couldn't help but want to test the waters of what she was willing to do to impress him.

He kept his expression nonchalant and confident, calm. "Do you think we'll still do this? You know, when we're warriors."

Hazelpaw's light eyes widened a bit, surprised but not perturbed by the sudden question. "What? Of course! Only difference will be that we won't have to sneak out." She told him, the paw she was working on still suspended in the air by her muzzle. "Why do you ask?"

Nightpaw didn't respond to her question verbally, instead flicking his tail to quiet her. "You think we'll ever be warriors?"

Hazelpaw seemed puzzled by his line of questioning, but didn't ask why he was doing this again. "Why wouldn't we?"

The dark-colored tom's ear twitched, "I'm not good at a lot, Hazelpaw."

Hazelpaw's eyes widened further, panic rising within her for reasons Nightpaw couldn't figure out. "W-what? No, no, no, Nightpaw, you're great at lots of things!"

Nightpaw ignored her frantic reassurances. Honestly, nothing she said really meant anything to him because he never knew the motive behind her words. "I might leave, Hazelpaw."

"Leave? What are you talking about?" Hazelpaw said, finally letting her paw rest on the ground.

"I don't think I want to be here anymore. I'm not sure where I'll go, but I think I'm going to leave."

"But why?" Hazelpaw all but wailed, looking more and more distraught as Nightpaw went on.

"I don't have a chance at being something here, Hazelpaw, that's why. And, clan life is just boring. It's the same thing every day. Don't you get sick of it?" Nightpaw asked.

Without question, Hazelpaw readily nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with his opinion. "But-"

Nightpaw interrupted her. "Will you go with me? If I leave, will you go with me and leave ThunderClan?"

"O-of course, Nightpaw, is that even a question? You're my best friend, I'd do anything for you." Hazelpaw told him, her fur fluffed up and her eyes still wide as the moon that hung prominently in the black sky.

Nightpaw gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. "If I leave, will you follow me wherever I go?"

"Yes."

"Even if it means never seeing your family and friends ever again?"

"Yes."

"Even if it's to certain death?"

"Yes."

"Even if it leads to a long, long, drawn out life you will constantly want to escape from?"

"As long as it's with you, yes."

Nightpaw didn't know what to feel with this leverage, this powerful advantage he had Hazelpaw at. Part of him felt proud, smug, confident. Then there was the other part of him, it was quieter, but still there, the part that felt disgust towards the both of them. Disgust that he could say all that to her, test her like that, and disgust that Hazelpaw agreed to everything without question, without any thought whatsoever.

He remained quiet, feeling Hazelpaw's intensely, unreasonably loyal gaze burning his coat. Hazelpaw seemed to expect more questions, more planning on when they were to leave, but Nightpaw didn't say anything more on the matter.

"Do you think that the dog-beast that bit Meadowpaw is still around?" Nightpaw asked.

The gray apprentice hesitated before responding. "Do you?"

Nightpaw's ear twitched again, "No. I think it was just a regular old dog that got away from its twoleg and Meadowpaw was just too dumb to know it."

"Yeah, definitely." Hazelpaw responded, watching him intently.

And idea sprung into his thoughts, "So you think if we split up, run around the territory separately and meet up when the gathering ends that nothing will happen to either of us?" Nightpaw asked, daringly.

Hazelpaw looked a little nervous, but she didn't hesitate to agree with him. "Of course not, we'd be fine!" She said quickly, her voice shrill.

"I think we should try it, then we can boast to the whole clan how we went out all by ourselves and came back without a scratch. Maybe then stupid Quailstar will let us actually do things again."

"Yeah, you're right!" Hazelpaw exclaimed.

"So, where do you want to meet, then? After we finish roaming?" Nightpaw asked, his voice smooth and without any tangible sign of nerve or hesitation.

"Wherever you'd like." Hazelpaw said.

"The edge of camp, it'll be easier to sneak back in before everyone comes back." Nightpaw answered, already envisioning their secret, precarious path that led back behind the apprentices' den.

Hazelpaw nodded, she looked nervous, but Nightpaw ignored it. If wandering the territory at night alone really bothered her, she'd speak up.

"You can stay by the water, I'll go back to the forest." Nightpaw declared, pleased but not surprised when Hazelpaw didn't protest.

"Alright, but when the gathering ends, we'll go back to camp, right?" Hazelpaw verified, licking her muzzle nervously, her tail fidgeting.

"Yeah, what, are you afraid or something, Hazelpaw? The dog-beast isn't real, remember? Hardly anything else to be afraid of in ThunderClan territory." Nightpaw said, his tone almost mocking as he watched Hazelpaw's discomfort grow.

"R-right, yeah I'm not scared. There's nothing out there, I know. I'm ready whenever you are, Nightpaw." Hazelpaw managed, forcing herself to sit a little straighter and to lie her fur flat again.

Nightpaw got to his paws and faced the bare thicket of trees and brambles. He looked over his shoulder where Hazelpaw had also gotten up, watching his movements with great interest, her fear momentarily forgotten. It was revived the moment Nightpaw said, "Well, see you at camp, Hazelpaw."

The image of her wide, panic-stricken stare was burned into his memory and it was hard for Nightpaw to concentrate when he started his agile sprint through the forest. Nightpaw may have imagined it, but he could've sworn he heard Hazelpaw call after him, perhaps to come back? He didn't know and he didn't stop or turn around either. They ran around the territory at night all the time, normally together, he'd admit, but she surely couldn't be that scared on her own. It was the same as always, Nightpaw just wasn't at her side this time and there was an absurd rumor of some dog-beast prowling the forest.

Hazelpaw would be fine.

Nightpaw would be fine.

With that in mind, Nightpaw propelled himself past the skeletal trees and through the burr-ridden thickets, still being mindful to scent the air every so often.

He ran until he was winded, his breath coming out in ragged, uneven pants as his paws slowly halted. Nightpaw could see the lake in the distance through the tree branches, some pride swelling in his chest for how fast he was able to get from the river to the lake without stopping. Vaguely, he wondered how far Hazelpaw got, but it was a fleeting thought.

Parched, Nightpaw moved through that final stretch of forest separating him from the edge of the lake. He settled on the shore, paws just barely out of the lazy tide's reach, and dipped his muzzle into the water. The cool liquid soothed the dry ache in his throat and the satisfying burn in his chest.

When Nightpaw's face rose from the lake, he paused, a shiver rippling through his skin. He looked up and there, at his right, sitting where the rock-infused sand mixed evenly with the dirt of the forest, was a brown tabby he'd never seen before.

It was a she-cat with eyes that nearly looked red, but were really just amber, and a scraggly, coarse, unkempt-looking coat. One of her ears had a rip in it and her whiskers were the shortest he'd ever seen, not to mention one of her teeth poked out from under her lip. Her scent was odd and disgusted Nightpaw somewhat, but her other physical traits seemed to take away from its impact.

But she still had some aspects of youth: the somewhat amused glint in her nearly-red eyes, the hesitant sheen to her disheveled fur, and the single exposed fang was still a perfect white.

Nightpaw decided, based lightly on subtle details in her appearance and more heavily on scent, that the brown tabby was young despite her haggard looks.

"Took you long enough to look at me, clan-cat."

Nightpaw, eyes wide and body stiff, tired to quickly think of a way to keep some of his dignity intact. The second he stopped scrutinizing his surrounds, this random, ragged-looking cat who didn't have the scent of any of the four clans, had managed to sneak up on him.

"I knew you were there." He bluffed, barely managing to keep his voice steady.

The ragged cat looked him over skeptically. "Somehow," she said smoothly, moving towards him a few short paces, "I doubt that, clan-cat."

Nightpaw glared at her, "This is ThunderClan territory. You need to leave."

"Says who? Clan-cat, I'd bet that I could do whatever I wanted and you wouldn't even notice. I don't think I need to leave. Actually," the ragged cat told him, "You can't afford to make me leave even if you could."

"Why?" Nightpaw asked, a snarl giving his tone an edge.

The ragged cat didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. "I'm looking for someone."

"And that concerns me, why?" Nightpaw suddenly wished Hazelpaw was there with him.

She snapped at him, her one stray tooth nearly catching on her lip, "It concerns you because she could kill you all! Tell me, have you seen Lyssa?"

"Lyssa? What in StarClan's name is that name? What, are you some ugly kittypet looking for your kittypet friend?" Nightpaw sneered, subconsciously moving closer to the stranger.

The ragged cat was spitting mad at his comment, "I don't know what that means, but Lyssa is no cat! Lyssa is my pack-mate! She's sick and we've driven her off, but we can't let her get comfortable anywhere! We need to keep going after her, running her until she's dead or there's no telling what she's going to do, alright? That's who Lyssa is, she's someone who's lost and needs to be found before she kills someone!"

Nightpaw's mind was reeling, this was getting weirder each breath he took. "Pack-mate?"

"Is that all you've gotten out of this?" The ragged cat asked, her hackles up and her teeth bared. "Have you seen the wolf, that's all I'm asking!"

"What are you talking about?" Nightpaw asked, growing irritated. The gathering would be over soon and he wanted to get back to camp before everyone, including frightful Hazelpaw, got back. The conversation with the ugly she-cat was growing confusing and tedious.

"A wolf! Like a big dog! She's gray all over, much larger than both of us, spit hanging out of her mouth all the time? Probably smells gross to you, do you have any idea of what I'm talking about?" The ragged cat bit out, her voice becoming strained and stressed as she progressed.

Meadowpaw briefly crossed Nightpaw's mind, but he didn't let the recognition transfer to his features. "Yeah, sure, say I do. What's wrong with the… wolf?"

The ragged cat, though still frustrated, seemed to calm down a little, drawing in a breath before continuing. "She's sick. Lyssa's sick and we've got to find her, alright? Trust me, you don't want what she's got anywhere near you."

"It's like a dog, why do you care if it's sick?" Nightpaw asked, his eyes narrowing on the scraggly she-cat. "You're a cat, nothing to worry about."

The ragged cat glared harshly at him, her frustration returning. "Evil doesn't belong to a single animal, clan-cat. Evil spreads."

Nightpaw had to stop himself from purring in amusement. What was this? Elder story time? He humored her the best he could. "Alright, how does _evil_ spread then?"

"With teeth."

"What's that supposed to mean? Who even are you? Look, I don't know where your dog friend is, kittypet, but you need to get off my territory." Nightpaw growled, growing impatient with the trespasser.

She stared at Nightpaw in a way that unnerved him before saying, "Look, I'm being as nice as possible. When my pack-mates come through here though, they aren't going to be nice, they might even kill you. When they come through and when they give you trouble, tell them you know Jag and they won't do much to you." The ragged cat, presumably Jag, told him.

Nightpaw's tail twitched in irritation. "Oh yeah? Well when you find my clanmates you can tell them you know Nightpaw and maybe they'll give you time to explain before you're torn to pieces." He growled, his ears flat and his lips threatening to pull back at the threat hidden in Jag's message.

Jag's torn ear flickered in acknowledgement, "Some way of introducing yourself there, Nightpaw. But trust me, I've seen a wolf fight a cat on many occasions. The cat never wins, so I'm not too worried."

The dark-pelted tom didn't respond verbally, giving her a hateful glare rather than waste another breath on a retort. Jag watched him for a moment more, but looked pained to do it, her paws itching to get on the move again. She didn't say anything to him either. Nightpaw watched Jag turn away from him and bound out of sight into the forest.

He contemplated chasing after her, but didn't feel like dealing with that again. Nightpaw hoped no one would be able to scent her on him. Though he hadn't had any physical interaction with Jag, she had a foul stench to her that seemed to saturate anything around it. His nose wrinkled in disgust as he recalled how it rolled off into the air and wondered if it was her actual scent or just her breath. Either way, Nightpaw just hoped no one would be able to tell he had any contact with the stranger. Nightpaw knew Hollowflight would be livid if he ever found out about his apprentice letting a trespasser go that easily.

He scowled at the thought of his mentor. The two hardly got along, his patience all worn away after the scam he pulled with Hazelpaw. Nightpaw now dreaded going to training, not only because he was terrible at everything, but because Hollowflight was so short-tempered. The phantom-like tom used to be so proud when he thought Nightpaw was bringing in all that prey on his own, boasting about him all the time, but when he found out about Hazelpaw's involvement, everything changed. He seemed to have Nightpaw as much, if not more, than Nightpaw hated him.

Nightpaw thought back to his scam with some form of pride, however empty it was. While it irrevocably damaged his relationship with his mentor, it gained him the respect of most of the other apprentices and she-cat who was still willing to do anything he wanted. He was seen by the young of the clan as a smooth-talking hero and by the old as an arrogant kit. Nightpaw didn't care about what the old thought, so long as he had his reputation with the young, it didn't matter.

Nightpaw smirked to himself when he thought about the tale he'd tell to his friends once he got back. Whenever he snuck out of camp, Nightpaw always came back with a fascinating, fabricated story that turned heads. That particular night, he decided he'd say that some tiny, yappy twoleg-place dog tried to come after him by the lake, but he beat it back towards RiverClan territory with ease.

There would be no mention of Jag and her so called wolves.

 **Hi guys! Another chapter done and another couple character introductions are done! What did you think of Jag? Was she a mistake to put into the story? Can't tell yet myself. (At least now we have confirmation what the animal that bit Meadowpaw was though!) I have to say, I like Nightpaw a lot. He's kind of mean to Hazelpaw, but I still like his character, it's easy to write in his POV. I've written other fanfics with warriors before and he's the first character I've made that doesn't have any real pride in his clan quite like Nightpaw does.**

 **Originally, I wasn't planning on making Nightpaw's and Hazelpaw's relationship the way it was (with Hazelpaw doing whatever Nightpaw says without a second thought) but I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm excited about the next chapter, it's going be called "Head Shake" and will be following Moonpaw. I've (loosely) planned what I want to happen in both Moonpaw's chapter and Duskpaw's chapter, (which will be called "Company") but things could change.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter and giving this whole idea the time of day!**

 **Jay**

 **I-really-hope-not: The chapter probably answered your guess, but I'll still tell you that you are correct! Thanks for reviewing, it really means a lot to me!**

 **Death by Essay: Yes! I was so worried that my summary was going to suck! Thanks for giving me a chance and reviewing! And the chapter probably answered your question about the coyote/wolf thing, but it is a wolf :)**


	4. Head Shake

_Chapter 3:_

 _Head Shake_

Moonpaw stayed at camp during the gathering. It was disappointing not to go, especially with things heating up between Quailstar and Runningstar, but she didn't want Meadowpaw to have to entertain herself all alone.

Since the air was abnormally warm that night, Moonpaw and Meadowpaw decided to sit outside the apprentices' den to enjoy the weather while it lasted. Moonpaw abhorred leaf-bare and dreaded its impeding arrival, seeing that her paw pads froze over quickly and her darker coat made her stand out impossibly amongst the pure white snow. It was truly a dreadful period of time that she was happy to delude herself into thinking it wasn't happening this cycle for just a little longer.

Meadowpaw, though, she loved leaf-bare. Had it not been for the lack of prey, Moonpaw suspected that it would be Meadowpaw's favorite. Her coat was cream and she had fur between her toes to help keep warm and stay somewhat hidden in the sparkling white snow. They had both been poorly planned kits when last leaf-bare had struck ThunderClan and Moonpaw recalled, fondly, the way Meadowpaw liked to burrow beneath the snow and wait for an unsuspecting cat to walk past her to jump out at and surprise. That was the other thing, Meadowpaw was far daintier than Moonpaw and was light on her paws so she never sunk on the snow. At times, on the right type of snow, Moonpaw's enormous paws kept her from sinking, but usually she'd fall right through each time it snowed, leaving her flustered and embarrassed.

Even with her tingling hind leg, Meadowpaw was lighter on her paws than Moonpaw around the camp. They hadn't been able to settle on one place, each arguing in favor of different places.

Moonpaw would suggest, "How about we just stay by our den?"

But Meadowpaw kept shaking her head, "No, no," she'd tell her, "Then Falconpaw and Stonepaw will sit and listen to our conversation. We should go to the center of camp."

Then Moonpaw would scrunch her face up, "Then we'll be the center of attention, especially when the clan comes back."

Eventually they'd decided on a space by Quailstar's den. No one was around there during the night of the gathering and the untouched stone around it felt pleasantly cool on their bellies when they settled. There was a lovely view of the moonlight seeping through that acted as an invitation to keep quiet and admire it. The two did talk, of course, it was near impossible to be by a cat as chatty as Meadowpaw and not talk.

Meadowpaw was sprawled out, her belly facing the sky with her cream-colored face staring lazily at her friend, who laid more conservatively beside her. A soft breeze carried a warm current of air through their fur, eliciting a contented yawn from Moonpaw.

"Do you think Hazelpaw's still in her nest?" Meadowpaw asked quietly, adjusting her position so she laid on her side when it became too uncomfortable.

Moonpaw's whiskers twitched. "Probably not. She's always with Nightpaw, and since when has he ever stayed in on a gathering night?"

"Think she's alright?" Meadowpaw asked again. "You know how he can be."

Moonpaw suppressed an irritated flick of her tail. How Nightpaw treated Hazelpaw irked her. Hazelpaw was great company and she knew he was lucky she hadn't left him yet. One day, Moonpaw was positive Hazelpaw would realize the difference between how Nightpaw acted around Stonepaw and Falconpaw, the way Moonpaw acted around Meadowpaw, and see how it wasn't right in comparison, the way he acted with her.

The big-pawed she-cat tried to be nonchalant. "I'm sure she's alright."

The two were quiet after that, each lost in their own thoughts about Hazelpaw. Moonpaw had a feeling that Meadowpaw didn't believe her, but Moonpaw didn't believe herself either. Most of the clan just saw Meadowpaw as an aloof, goofy, flighty she-cat who didn't think all that much, but Moonpaw knew differently. She and Meadowpaw had been friends since their nursery days and she knew Meadowpaw was plenty intelligent, she just wasn't very mature about it most of the time.

"I want to go find her." Meadowpaw said abruptly.

Moonpaw's response was instantaneous, repeating Quailstar's previous words, "Apprentices are not to leave camp unaccompanied by a warrior after sundown." She looked at Meadowpaw, "We aren't allowed to leave."

"Nightpaw and Hazelpaw weren't allowed to leave either," Meadowpaw persisted, "I want to go find Hazelpaw."

"But Quailstar…" Moonpaw's meow trailed off, "The beast that bit you, it's still out there."

Meadowpaw flicked her tail in annoyed acknowledgement. "Yeah, it bit me, but just once, and I'm still fine. Leg feels a little weird, but other than that I'm fine! Even if we do find it again, we'll be okay."

Moonpaw hesitated, glancing around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. "Okay," she relented, "But I don't want to go any further than Ancient Oak, alright?"

The cream apprentice brightened, "Great!" She got up and trotted with purpose back to her den, not looking back to see if Moonpaw was following.

Moonpaw sighed, already regretting her decision, but followed Meadowpaw nonetheless. She wasn't as stealthy as the slender Meadowpaw, her enormous paws making a slapping noise against the stone that drew some brief attention to herself.

She glanced at the little circle of warriors stationed near the camp entrance who were not chosen to attend the gathering as she made her way to her den. Snowfang, Crowflight, Shadecrest, and Thorntail were there, each looking somewhat curiously back at her before looking away again. It wasn't an odd thing for cats to look Moonpaw's direction when the usual hustle of clan life was paused like it was then, but Moonpaw still felt somewhat self-conscious over it; she was the only cat in ThunderClan who was that loud.

Falconpaw and Stonepaw were in the den, by the mouth of it but invisible to anyone just peering into it. Their eyes glinted in the dimly lit space, amber and viridian, and one could see their tails swish in the dark. They were talking about Nightpaw, eagerly awaiting his return, when Moonpaw came in, but the conversation quickly turned into talk about WindClanners. They hardly seemed to notice Meadowpaw's and Moonpaw's return, which Moonpaw was grateful for. She didn't want to have to deal with her brother's friends.

Meadowpaw was waiting by the breach in the den wall that Nightpaw and his friends had made at the beginning of their apprenticeships, her ear twitching impatiently.

"Come on." Meadowpaw hissed quietly, drawing Falconpaw's attention.

His amber eyes landed on the two she-cats. "You two are leaving, too?"

Stonepaw looked over now as well, his gaze narrowing on his den-mates, but he didn't say anything.

"Yup, just for a little bit. Need to stretch my leg." Meadowpaw said nonchalantly, squeezing herself through the break in the den before they could respond.

"I thought she couldn't go to the gathering because she couldn't walk?" Stonepaw asked skeptically.

With Meadowpaw unable to answer, Moonpaw responded for her. "She couldn't deal with the walk all the way to the island and back, she can handle a little stroll.

Falconpaw's eyes flickered, "Alright then. Good luck."

Moonpaw began to crouch down so she could go after Meadowpaw, "For what?"

"Fitting through there. I can't imagine someone of your caliber getting through that, Bigpaws." Falconpaw sneered.

Hurt and embarrassment burned Moonpaw's pelt, but she did her best not to let it show.

She took a final glance at her den-mate, her wide eyes twinkling in defiance through the dark. "If you can fit, Falconpaw, I should have no problem." Moonpaw retorted, wriggling out of the den.

She tried to fit through as quickly and gracefully as possible, and though she got through fairly fast, she knew she'd sprayed some dirt and bracken in her haste. Either way, Moonpaw felt like she got through with her dignity intact.

Meadowpaw hadn't heard Moonpaw's exchange with their den-mates, already poised to race up the path that Nightpaw found in the slick stone walls. "Ready?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Moonpaw gave slight nod, "Yeah. Just make sure you keep low, some warriors are out in the clearing that might see us."

Without a response, Meadowpaw bounded silently up the incline, making it to the top of the stone before disapearing into the bushes. Moonpaw followed, taking nearly twice as long in an effort to quiet her paws.

Meadowpaw purred when Moonpaw made it up, "I think we're in the clear!"

Moonpaw purred back in agreement, trying to put Falconpaw's comment behind her. "Yeah, we should be fine now that we're up here." She glanced back at the camp below, then at the sprawling forest before them. "So should we just wander around a little and see if we pick up Hazelpaw's scent or something?"

"Sure!" Meadowpaw chirped, her eyes widening a little as she faced the forest herself.

Without another word, the two slipped from the view of camp into the foreboding forest. Moonpaw and Meadowpaw were both far more alert this time, both undoubtedly nervous about being out at night again. Neither spoke for a while, all their energy focused on staying aware of their surroundings. There was no running, no playing, no joking, there wasn't anything. The light mood that the two shared at the top of the camp was long dead, succeeded by a feeling of nerve and dread that left them tense.

Moonpaw nearly asked Meadowpaw to let them turn around and go back, but held back. She knew Nightpaw wouldn't be as vigilant in keeping aware of his environment as they were being and she worried about Hazelpaw. Nightpaw was too arrogant for his own good.

"I'm not catching either of their scents, Moonpaw," Meadowpaw said, glancing around as though checking if her nose had deceived her, "Do you think they went towards ShadowClan territory instead of the lake?"

"Maybe," The gray she-cat said nervously, her anxiety building. Moonpaw shook her head firmly, "I think we need to turn back, Meadowpaw. I don't want to be out here anymore, if we get caught-"

"What if Hazelpaw gets caught?" Meadowpaw interrupted, her hackles raising.

"She'll be alright," Moonpaw insisted, "Nightpaw's with her, surely he wouldn't just leave her if something happened… right?"

Meadowpaw hissed, "Your brother's a flea-pelt, Moonpaw. Of course he'd leave her! Even worse, if the beast finds them, Nightpaw might even convince Hazelpaw to sacrifice herself so he can get away! You know she's faster than him by a long shot!"

Moonpaw bristled at the accusation. Nightpaw wasn't the best sibling, or even the best clan cat, but he was still her brother. "Hazelpaw's his friend, Meadowpaw, he has to care for her! I doubt he'd do something that vile. Contrary to what you believe, Nightpaw is not a monster."

Meadowpaw's tail whipped harshly to the side in ire, "He's close enough to one to me! I doubt even Duskpaw would deny that! You and Hazelpaw are probably the only cats in ThunderClan besides himself that would say anything good about him!"

"Cedardapple would! Our mother would defend him, Smokepath, too! His family knows him best, Meadowpaw. I'm his sister, not you!" Moonpaw snapped, baring her youthfully-white fangs at her friend.

Meadowpaw balked at Moonpaw, disbelief in her face as she continued to speak in Nightpaw's favor. Both cats had stopped moving now and were breathing somewhat heavily from their argument. "Why would you keep defending him?" She asked slowly. "He would never do that for you, Moonpaw, do you know that? Nightpaw wouldn't do that for anyone but himself."

"You don't know that." Moonpaw insisted, trying in vain to chase away the doubt in Nightpaw that was accumulating in her conscious. Nightpaw was a good cat, he just made bad choices.

Meadowpaw's jaws parted to tell her otherwise, but a subtle change in the air distracted her. She scented the air and her pupils dilated in surprise. "Hazelpaw." She said sharply, the conversation long forgotten by the cream-colored apprentice.

Moonpaw scented the air after, stiffening when she did recognize their friend's scent. She was upwind, closer to camp.

The two she-cats trotted side-by-side, the warm breeze ruffling their coats. Moonpaw hadn't been expecting to find any trace of Hazelpaw that night with their small search range and strained amount of time the gathering permitted. A part of her was relieved to know that Hazelpaw was alright, but another part wished she hadn't found her because that probably meant that Nightpaw wasn't there.

Moonpaw's tail twitched with concern for her brother. Meadowpaw thought she knew him, she thought he would sacrifice Hazelpaw to save himself, but Moonpaw knew he wouldn't do that. Her brother was a lot of things: lazy, self-centered, and arrogant, but he wasn't bad. He wouldn't throw Hazelpaw, or anyone for that matter, to the beast if things came down to it.

He was good, he would always be good.

The thick-pelted she-cat quickened her pace. If Nightpaw was in trouble, she wanted to find out as soon as she could. For him, she'd break the rules and go off on her own to find him because he was family, even if it meant punishment later.

Meadowpaw matched her speed without comment, but Moonpaw knew it was for different reasons. Her cream-coated friend thought Hazelpaw was alone because Nightpaw left her or tried to sacrifice her to the beast. Moonpaw knew otherwise.

Nightpaw would not let her down, not this time.

A few breaths later and Moonpaw could see her, tucked delicately into the shaded shrouds of foliage. Her figure looked lithe and effectively built, something Moonpaw envied, each edge of her highlighted by the milky silver of the moonlight. Though her form was ethereal beneath the full moon, she looked defeated. Her head was hung low, her slender tail dragging in the bracken behind her, undoubtedly catching burrs on its way, and her shoulders were visibly sunken and sagged even with the distance between her and Moonpaw.

She saw no sign of Nightpaw.

Muzzle raised slightly, Moonpaw scented the air. She could smell that Hazelpaw had been around him lately, but caught none of the signature burning odor of adrenaline or fear. Moonpaw felt her heart drop into her stomach and her paws suddenly felt heavier.

"Hazelpaw!" Meadowpaw bellowed, her voice carrying through the wind to where Moonpaw would've been worried about being caught had Nightpaw been there too.

Meadowpaw ran towards a startled Hazelpaw, taking her off guard when she rubbed against her flank. Her eyes were wide and her fur was somewhat bristled when she stammered, "M-Meadowpaw? What're you doing out here?"

The cream-colored apprentice's eyes twinkled when she backed away from her denmate. "Looking for you! With that beast roaming around we," Meadowpaw backtracked, glancing critically at Moonpaw, "Well I, was worried about you! There's no telling what crazy thing Nightpaw would've gotten you into on a night like tonight!"

A low growl formed in the back of Moonpaw's throat as she fought the urge to defend herself and her brother. She knew there wasn't any point in telling Meadowpaw that she did care about Hazelpaw and arguing that Nightpaw wasn't a bad cat; Meadowpaw believed what she wanted to believe and there wasn't anything that could change it. So Moonpaw stayed at her distance and watched them, only giving an ear's twitch in defeated acknowledgement when Hazelpaw peered over Meadowpaw to see her through the hooded eyes of the moonlit night.

Hazelpaw gave a half-hearted purr, looking far more desolate than Moonpaw felt. She looked somewhat more radiant with the knowledge that her other friends had thought of her, but still held an overall gloomy stance. "Oh, that's nice." She said lamely, suddenly looking uncomfortable on top of everything else.

Then, Moonpaw found her voice, however quiet it was. "Where's Nightpaw?"

At Nightpaw's name, Hazelpaw's head bowed again. She looked miserable, "He left me. Wanted to prove that you guys were lying about the monster, that it was just some yappy two-leg dog that got loose and scared you both. I'm supposed to be running around the territory right now but I got scared and came back here to wait for him."

Meadowpaw hissed and snarled at the delivered accusation, her whole body doubling in size and her eyes narrowing into snake-like slits. "Lying?" She nearly yowled, "Why would I lie? How could I have lied? My leg still doesn't feel right! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him so much and I hope the monster kills him tonight! StarClan, I might even kill him! It'd serve that badger right!"

Hazelpaw perked up at Meadowpaw's response, taking on a defensive look. "Take that back, Meadowpaw! You saw the thing first-paw, no one deserves to die like that and you know it!" She told Meadowpaw, her voice quiet but firm, her own eyes narrowing as she spoke, her sorrow and disappointment fleeing from her expression.

Moonpaw, the silent spectator, watched in shock when Meadowpaw haphazardly swatted at Hazelpaw's cheek with an unsheathed set of claws. Hazelpaw's eyes broadened and she ducked under Meadowpaw's harmful reach and launched herself at her denmate, roughly head-butting her friend in the chest. Meadowpaw easily toppled over, her poor posturing sending her flailing into the leaf-sodden earth. She struggled on her back for a moment, furiously twisting around in her own skin, before she found her footing once again.

Her eyes were wild when she bared her fangs and flattened her ears at Hazelpaw, who watched her warily. A garbled growl emitted from Meadowpaw, her tail lashing angrily behind her, accumulating thorns and gathering leaves as it moved. There was a thickness to the air as the two stared at each other, waiting for a move to be made.

The moment of peace was enough for Moonpaw to think clearly again. The large she-cat came closer, snapping twigs as she moved. With each cracking sound she made, she noted that the feuding she-cats didn't move a muscle, their ears barely twitching to acknowledge the noise. Moonpaw went to Hazelpaw's side and looked at her cream-coated friend, who held a feral look in her normally bright, happy eyes. She'd never seen Meadowpaw act this way their entire lives. Meadowpaw may have had a temper, but she hardly held onto it, much less attack someone over it.

Meadowpaw's gaze shifted from Hazelpaw to Moonpaw, a flicker of disbelief flashing within them before her, side-by-side in apparent unison. "So that's how it is?" She asked, glancing from denmate to denmate. "Both of you turning on me? Over that awful tom? I can't believe this."

Moonpaw took a step forward, "Meadowpaw-"

A loud, cutting hiss flew from Meadowpaw's parted jaws, "Don't you dare!" Her facial features twisted in an unnatural way neither she-cats had ever seen before, then her stance seemed off, one side slightly slanted. Meadowpaw's whole body twitched and she was gone, running a sloppy, off-beat run that made her look like she would fall over at any second.

"Wait!" Moonpaw cried, "Meadowpaw, where are you going?"

Meadowpaw yielded no response, further propelling herself into the depths of the oak forest.

Hazelpaw watched stiffly from Moonpaw's side, her eyes fixed on where Meadowpaw's distressed figure had disappeared to. Her pink tongue swiped over her muzzle nervously and her tail quivered just above the ground.

Moonpaw shifted anxiously on her paws, her attention viciously moving between Meadowpaw's sudden disappearance and Hazelpaw's frozen form.

"Did she hurt you?" Moonpaw decided to ask, glancing at Hazelpaw's pelt, which seemed to be without any outstanding abrasions.

Hazelpaw blinked, relaxing somewhat at Moonpaw's voice. "No, she didn't get me." She murmured, still not able to look away from that one spot in the woods. "I don't understand what happened with her, she doesn't normally do that, does she?"

"No, never, not even once!" Moonpaw responded. "I mean, she was a little irritated before we found you, but I would never have imagined that she'd attack anyone. I don't know what's wrong with her."

Hazelpaw took a deep breath, "Okay, I'm done tonight. I think we need to go back to camp, at least to the passage behind the apprentice den."

Moonpaw's tail twitched in disagreement, "But what about Meadowpaw? I think we need to go get her, the monster's still out there, Hazelpaw. I don't think anyone should be out here by themselves. It's bad enough that Nightpaw's out there by himself, but at least he's in his right mind! Meadowpaw can't be alone in the forest right now, not in her state."

"What about Meadowpaw?" Hazelpaw asked, vehemently, "What about us? I don't want to go find her, she's about scared the fur off of me, Moonpaw! We need to go back, now! I refuse to seek her out, she is dangerous and she's willing to attack us, her own friends!"

Moonpaw blanched, she knew Hazelpaw was right.

She looked somewhat expectantly at the dark recesses between the thick oak forest where Meadowpaw had bounded away as though her friend would come back at any moment. In her heart, Moonpaw had a feeling this wasn't going to be a once and done thing, that something snapped in Meadowpaw that she would never have the capacity to understand. She just didn't have the slightest clue what it was or why it happened. Meadowpaw was hardly aggressive, Moonpaw couldn't even find a memory of the cream she-cat acting truly hostile to anyone. She was outgoing and friendly, even with other clans during tense times. Meadowpaw had friends in RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan who always brightened at the sight of her no matter the complexities of clan relationships. She'd always been a ray of sun streaking through the difficult crevices of everyday life.

"Moonpaw," Hazelpaw persisted, "We need to go back."

The gray apprentice looked fretfully where Meadowpaw had gone a moment longer before hesitantly flicking her tail in agreement. "Meadowpaw will be alright," Moonpaw said, quietly, "Nightpaw as well."

"Of course Nightpaw will be alright, he's one of the best apprentices in ThunderClan," Hazelpaw said, confidently, "He might even beat us back."

Hazelpaw, clearly on edge, made the first move towards camp, seeming to be in a hurry to get away from the area. When Moonpaw didn't follow straight away, she glanced at her over her shoulder, "Moonpaw? Come on, what are you doing?"

Moonpaw's ears twitched in acknowledgement. "Hang on, Hazelpaw, I just… I feel like I need to try to find her, I won't look for very long, I promise." She padded forward, away from her denmate, who watched impatiently, as though she was considering leaving Moonpaw and making a mad-dash for camp.

She didn't wait to properly see Hazelpaw's response, instead ducking into the heavy forest just as Meadowpaw had. Her senses were on overdrive, her nerves making her jumpy and uneasy as she tracked Meadowpaw's scent as her ears swiveled atop her head and her whiskers vibrated in the crowded space. Moonpaw's paws were careful, but still sounded a plethora of snaps and crunches as they moved her along the scent-trail.

"Meadowpaw?" Moonpaw asked, hesitantly, her eyes flickering anxiously in search of the cream-colored apprentice.

The dark, foliage, and fresh scent of Meadowpaw played tricks on Moonpaw. Shadows moved with the wind, casting phantom paws and fur shifting around her and the whole forest seemed to crinkle and shift as though to discourage her search. Moonpaw was vaguely conscious of the fact that Hazelpaw was by herself, waiting with fright for her to come back and she felt a pang of guilt. Had she convinced Meadowpaw to stay in camp, Hazelpaw probably would've gotten back to her nest by now and Meadowpaw might not have had her outburst.

All the sudden, she felt like a horrible clan member and friend.

She felt herself stop at the thought, taking a breath to take in her situation: tendrils of brambles had woven into her thick fur; mud was caked onto paws and hocks with bits of leaves packed into it; and her heart was racing, fighting against her ribs with a rabid ferocity. She expected to feel like she was being watched, tracked by either Meadowpaw or the beast, but Moonpaw felt no eyes upon her. At the unexpected realization, Moonpaw was able to calm her erratic heart and take slower breaths.

She tried again, "Meadowpaw? Meadowpaw, can you hear me? Hello?"

Moonpaw stood, rigidly, awaiting a response, her shoulders sagging somewhat when she only heard the whistling breeze through the leaves. She nearly called out again when a familiar light figure staggered awkwardly through the thickets.

Meadowpaw's normally clear, bright eyes looked clouded with confusion and her fur looked ragged from her run through the dense area. She favored the back leg that was bitten by the beast, keeping it somewhat raised as she stiffly moved closer.

She met Moonpaw's gaze, a look of fear accompanying her haze. "M-Moonpaw, something's wrong," Meadowpaw told her, shakily, as though she hadn't run off in a fit of unreasonable rage moments earlier.

Moonpaw looked Meadowpaw over for any obvious hindrances aside from the stiff leg and noticed something was off with her face and posture in general. Meadowpaw's face seemed slanted, one side leaning slightly to the other, and she caught the young cat's face fighting a twitch. Her legs looked unsteady, like they were too frail to properly hold up her body and also looked to be fighting some sort of spasm.

For a breath, Meadowpaw seemed to get a break from the spasms, but they returned swiftly. Her head shook and her back started to curve inward, forcing her shaking head skywards, her maw cranking open as her paws began inching backwards to compensate for her head's forced position. Moonpaw watched, skipping breaths and feeling her eyes broaden and her pulse spike. Meadowpaw's head continued to shake and whip around in short but violent motions, her jaw starting to snap at nothing, spewing a broken, disturbed meow that cut straight through Moonpaw.

Then she was on the ground.

Meadowpaw started on her back, having fallen straight backwards, but quickly flopped on her side, her legs jutting out stiffly like logs. Her neck was taut between each horrible jerk that plagued her and the she-cat's body quaked, not quite as dramatically as her head and neck, but enough to add to the effect.

Moonpaw stood, frozen in horror before she had the sense to call out. "Hazelpaw! Hazelpaw, help!" She shrieked, her hackles rising and her tail doubling in size as she watched her best friend in what looked like the throes of death.

Almost immediately, Moonpaw could hear Hazelpaw come crashing through the undergrowth, nearly crashing into Moonpaw. The pale apprentice skidded to a stop less than a tail-length from her friend when she saw Meadowpaw, her fur and stare mimicking Moonpaw's.

"Moonpaw, what's happening? What's wrong with her?" Hazelpaw asked, frantically, backing closer to the thicket of brambles behind her and Moonpaw, recoiling at the sight of her denmate.

"I don't know!" Moonpaw exclaimed, her meow shrill. "You've got to get help, get Brightfur! Everyone's got to be coming back by now! Go towards WindClan territory, they've got to be close!"

Without another word, Hazelpaw fled the horrifying sight, leaving Moonpaw to watch in agony as Meadowpaw came closer to StarClan.

 **Author's Note:**

 **I AM SO, SO, SO SORRY! This should've been up so much sooner! I've just been so busy and then this chapter just wasn't really coming to me and I sort of had to force myself to keep going around the midpoint... But yeah I had a ton of stuff going on, I had finals, my high school graduation, and I've been in a lot of pain lately so it's been difficult to think about the story very much. Since January, I've been having stomach aches off and on all day, every day and it's been taking a toll on me (I'm getting an endoscopy next week). And I'm moving next week, so that's been taking up my time along with my job.**

 **So I've been a busy gal! O** **f course, that's no excuse, I should've updated sooner and I promise I'll get the next one up ASAP. Thank you all for your patience!**

 **-Jay**

 **Review responses:**

 **I-really-hope-not: Glad to see that not everyone completely hates Nightpaw! Yeah, his relationship with Hazelpaw is definitely different (not in a very good way, though). As for the wolf pack thing, don't worry, Jag's story will come in later probably in one of Nightpaw's chapters. And this time I actually will be updating soon because I've already gotten a page and a half written of the next chapter!**

 **Icytopia: Yeah Nightpaw isn't very loveable… or reliable… And Lyssa will be elaborated later on, probably on one of Nightpaw's chapters! By the way, thanks for reviewing on my other two chapters! :D**


	5. Company

Chapter 4:

 _Company_

There was quite the controversy between Quailstar's family and Duskpaw's family. Duskpaw, Moonpaw, and Nightpaw were all born on the same day as Quailstar's own kits, and the two queens were at odds with one another.

Quailstar's mate, Greenlily, was beautiful. Her ebony coat was glossy with the tendency to shimmer in the light and glint in the dark and her eyes were strikingly green that no other cat in all the territories could compete with. Her only physical fault was an unforgiving rip in one of her ears, nearly separating the piece of cartilage into two, but hardly anyone paid that any mind. However, her beauty and close relationship with Quailstar brought an air of expected arrogance and entitlement towards herself that brought out the worst in her, at times.

Cedardapple was younger. Her fur wasn't so much glossy, but rather lustrous with youth, its golden-brown base color and darker flecks drawing attention from all angles since she was a kit. Her coloring was intricate, she had white on her chest and paws and muzzle and her eyes were a kind blue that lead most to assume a certain, beautiful nature of her. She, in comparison to the black she-cat, had no physical flaws and soft but striking physical features. Cedardapple was far more slender than Greenlily, her paws smaller and her frame smaller in a way that, to most, made her more appealing.

But the thing was, Greenlily just had something that she didn't and Cedardapple knew it. It'd bothered her since she was even an apprentice and Greenlily had definitely noticed her envy and she reveled in it. Had Cedardapple been more discreet in her jealousy, the rivalry between them might not have sparked like it had.

But Cedardapple was anything but discreet. She made her disdain clear for Greenlily, though the rest of the clan seemed to keep their muzzles out of it. Briefly, there were sides, but by the time both were warriors, the sides dissolved and the pointless rivalry was forgotten by all except Greenlily and Cedardapple.

Then, both were queens at the same time. Rosewater was there, too, unintentionally acting as a buffer between the two, but her presence could only curb so much.

Kits became the next competition between the two. Who could produce the most, the most talented and the most beautiful? Both put a lot of thought into names, Duskpaw knew that much.

Quailstar was in the nursery a lot, talking names with an eager Greenlily while Cedardapple would pretend to listen to Rosewater's talk. She gathered inspiration from Greenlily's counseling with Quailstar and came up with a theme for the names she would use for her kits; sure, it might've conflicted with Greenlily's theme she'd set for her own young, but it wasn't Cedardapple's fault that she was so vocal about what names she'd use.

Cedardapple kitted before Greenlily, producing her two toms and single she-kit. She named her toms Nightkit and Duskkit. Those names weren't the problem, no fur was bristled and the clan still celebrated the arrival of Cedardapple's kits wholeheartedly. It was the she-kit's name that did it.

In spite of Greenlily and Quailstar, who'd more or less told the rest of the clan what their young would be called, Cedardapple called her only daughter Moonkit. Quailstar and Greenlily had vowed, if they had a she-kit, that she would be Moonkit and Cedardapple had the audacity to steal their name.

Cedardapple defended herself with the fact that Greenlily hadn't even kitted yet, that she might not have any daughters, and that she didn't own the name Moonkit. She haughtily told Greenlily that there could easily be two kittens called Moonkit at the same time.

Quailstar was furious, he tried to make Cedardapple change Moonkit's name, seeing the obvious and blatant disrespect the name of the youngest she-cat in ThunderClan represented. Cedardapple was setting Moonkit up for failure with this gesture, but she didn't care then, and Duskpaw suspected that she still didn't give it much thought presently. She was impulsive, especially when she had the chance to drag someone through the garlic patch.

Later that day, Greenlily had her litter: a tom and a she-kit. When Duskpaw heard the story from others, they would speak of a vicious umbrage in the eyes of the beautiful black she-cat when she formally announced the names of her young to curious visitors. She called the tom, a large brown tabby, Sunkit, and the she-kit, a pitifully small and shriveled-looking brown tabby who barely moved, Moonkit in spite of Cedardapple's choice of name for her own daughter.

During the first seven days of the kits' existence, Greenlily and Cedardapple purposely said the name of their daughter frequently and loudly, sneaking glares and silent snarls towards each other. The nursery was tense and any visits from the rest of the clan were often curtailed by the aggressive atmosphere the two she-cats provided.

By the end of those first few days, it was evident that Greenlily's Moonkit wasn't doing well. She hardly nursed, rarely made noise or squirmed around, and looked sickly. Brightfur had tried to help her, advising that Greenlily groom her more frequently to help her maintain temperature and treating her with herb, but it didn't do enough. Sunkit and Cedardapple's litter all looked healthy, but it was evident to all that Quailstar's daughter was moribund.

The little tabby died shortly after her first couple days of life, ending the uncomfortableness of having two cats with the same name in such close quarters. However, the she-kit's death caused a deep-seated hatred for Cedardapple in the heart of Greenlily, who saw her daughter's passing as a sign from StarClan: there could not be two cats with a shared name in the same clan. Since the small, frail kit was born after Cedardapple's litter, StarClan took Greenlily's daughter away and it was all the speckled queen's fault.

Quailstar, though devastated by the loss of Moonkit, had the civility to move forward, Duskpaw could see it in the way he treated him and his littermates. Even Cedardapple was treated as any other ThunderClan warrior was, despite what she'd done to disrespect him and Greenlily previously. For that, Duskpaw was grateful to work in such close quarters with Quailstar, to hear things from him meant specially for the ears of medicine cats exclusively. Duskpaw always saw Quailstar as something equivalent to a StarClan member in the flesh, someone celestial with an uncommon ability to look past great discretions with an air of grace and power, a trait he found was a rarity.

Being around a cat he so much admired was one of the largest reasons Duskpaw didn't ask to resign from the position of Brightfur's apprentice. With this position, Duskpaw would always be in Quailstar's inner circle. He'd know things that no one else in the clan knew just because he was medicine cat and Quailstar would value his opinion, possibly above any other clan member's; that in itself was invaluable to Duskpaw. As medicine cat, Duskpaw would be guaranteed power, he'd never have to fight for the position of deputy or have the pressures of being clan leader. Instead, he'd be the voice whispering in Quailstar's, and possibly even his successor's, ear, pushing certain actions and opinions onto him.

In theory, becoming Brightfur's apprentice was the smartest thing Duskpaw could've done with his life, but he still had constant doubts that made him contemplate the true value of his decision.

For one thing, Duskpaw was always stressed. From the beginning, Brightfur had told Duskpaw to look for omens from StarClan in everyday places: the lighting in the camp or in the forest; the strength and size of the little streams that carved through the territory; the physical state of the boarders; the abundance and condition of prey; the behavior of others; everything was supposed to indicate StarClan's voice in the eyes of a medicine cat and it was exhausting. Brightfur was always pointing things out to him that she assumed he would've noticed, growing somewhat tired when she realized her apprentice, yet again, missed or misinterpreted something.

Then there were the herbs. Brightfur had so many different herbs with all different uses and scents that grew in all sorts of locations and he was supposed to know all of them. Originally, Duskpaw figured the herbs would be the easy part. How hard could it possibly be for him to learn to tell them all apart? Duskpaw had been Brightfur's apprentice for four moons now and half of the time he couldn't tell coltsfoot flowers from marigold flowers. He could see the disappointment etched behind the bright glimmers of faith in her eyes, trying to shield him from her worries about his abilities.

Relationships with the clan were entirely different from the rest of the clan, as well. Duskpaw felt as though he was estranged from his clanmates, like Quailstar and Brightfur were the only cats he could go to. Even then, Quailstar was busy with leading ThunderClan and maintaining clan relations and the only free time he had was dedicated mostly towards Sunpaw, his pride and joy. In reality, Duskpaw only had Brightfur and when he thought about it too much, that greatly upset him.

He wondered sometimes how Brightfur must've been before he became her apprentice, if she was lonely all the time. Perhaps she was, but for her the tradeoff between a lack of social interaction and the job of playing seer and healer for the clan was likely great enough to ward off the stinging consequences of loneliness. Duskpaw wondered if, even if he got good at being Brightfur's apprentice, that tradeoff would ever be enough.

"Duskpaw!" Brightfur called, tearing him from his thoughts, "We're almost out of feverfew and poppy seeds, don't let me forget!"

Duskpaw blinked, his pelt flushing with embarrassment when he realized Brightfur's sudden holler made his fur fluff out in alarm. He glanced at Quailstar, hoping he didn't notice, sighing in relief when he saw all his attention focused on Sunpaw, who was speaking hurriedly to him.

"Duskpaw!" She snapped again, "Are you listening? Get inside and lend me a paw!"

Though Brightfur couldn't see him, Duskpaw's tail flicked in acknowledgement before he spoke. "Yes, I heard you," He mumbled, half-heartedly getting to his paws and wandering into his and Brightfur's den.

Duskpaw had been dreading this since the previous night. He'd done his best to avoid going in there with Brightfur and… her. Duskpaw didn't so much mind Meadowpaw, he hardly knew her. It was the fact that she had that head-shake the night before and could be contagious.

In a way, Duskpaw felt selfish for not wanting to help Meadowpaw in fear of becoming ill himself, but what cat wouldn't try to avoid getting whatever horrible thing she had? And now Duskpaw wasn't so sure if he wanted to be around Brightfur, who'd been with Meadowpaw since Hazelpaw intercepted the clan on their way back from the island. Just being near the mouth of the medicine cat den was making Duskpaw anxious.

With a vague sense of duty, Duskpaw took in the sight before him: Brightfur shifting through her carefully organized stash of herbs while Meadowpaw sat in her nest, a crestfallen look on her face. Brightfur didn't seem to notice when Duskpaw joined her, but Meadowpaw's sad, tired eyes followed him, making him more uneasy than he was to begin with.

Duskpaw awkwardly stared at his paws, his tail swishing slowly behind him. "So what do you, um, need help with, Brightfur?"

Brightfur still didn't look up. "Well, I did need help finding that willow bark I sent you to get earlier, but I found it misplaced and jumbled up with the beech bark," She growled, making Duskpaw's ears flatten in shame.

"Sorry, Brightfur." Duskpaw responded, his voice barely audible.

His apology seemed to irritate his mentor further, "Maybe if you stopped daydreaming all the time and paid attention more often, you would've noticed where the willow bark goes. You might actually know a lot more if you paid more attention, might actually know the difference between poppy and foxglove seeds!"

Duskpaw flinched at her tone. Typically, Brightfur was soft-spoken and kind, patient even. He supposed that the stress and built up frustrations towards him were bringing out the worst in her.

Brightfur lightly shook her head. "Duskpaw, I've given Meadowpaw poppy seeds, willow bark, and feverfew for the head-shake, I'm not quite sure what else to give her yet. I'm going to visit Grasswhisker over in RiverClan and possibly Reddawn and Bouldertail in ShadowClan and WindClan if I have time, then I'm coming back, alright?"

The soot-furred tom flicked his tail in understanding, disappointment settling in his stomach. Watching Meadowpaw sounded dreadful.

"And I cannot stress this enough to you, Duskpaw," Brightfur told him, finally making direct eye-contact with her apprentice, "If she has another head-shake, you need to make sure she is on her side and there's nothing around her, okay? I had to treat some wounds on her legs and neck from when she fell in the forest. If you have to shove all of our herbs out of the way, that's okay. We can reorganize them later. Meadowpaw comes first."

Wide-eyed, Duskpaw nodded in compliance, "Right. Do I need to give her anything else?" He questioned, hoping she said there wasn't anything else.

Brightfur's golden pelt stiffened, "No. She can wait until morning, don't give her anything besides some fresh-kill and water." The medicine cat shifted her gaze from solely Duskpaw to him and Meadowpaw. "And I don't want her going anywhere either, or any visitors. Not any of her little friends, not Rosewater, not anyone, got it? We don't know if she's got a sickness that can spread or not and I don't want to take any chances until we get a better grip on things."

At her words, Meadowpaw gave a quiet sigh and rested her head on her paws, yielding a pang of sympathy from Duskpaw. He didn't want to take care of her, but he did feel badly for his clanmate.

Brightfur continued rummaging through the herbs in their stash, making sure things were in proper order. "And I've been helping with her grooming, the head-shake has made it harder for her to reach her flank."

Duskpaw had to hide a look of disgust. There was no way he was grooming her. He feigned indifference, "Alright. Anything else?"

"No," She tucked the bundle of herbs between her neck and chest, "I'm going to go now, please follow my instructions, Duskpaw."

"O-of course, Brightfur. Safe t-travels," Duskpaw stammered, though he wasn't certain if Brightfur was still listening to him.

Brightfur left without another word, leaving Duskpaw and Meadowpaw to their own devices.

Moments passed, Duskpaw staying nearly exactly where his mentor had left him. He could feel her sad eyes trained on him with an unnerving focus that made him want to run away and never look back. Meadowpaw wasn't talkative like he'd seen her be with Moonpaw and Hazelpaw, making Duskpaw wonder if she could feel his disdain for watching her already.

When he found the courage to turn around, his suspicions were confirmed. His company's eyes were relentlessly watching him, scanning him for something he didn't know. Empathy? Sympathy? Caution? Duskpaw wasn't sure.

Duskpaw was careful to keep situated by the mouth of the den, as far from Meadowpaw as he could manage without disobeying Brightfur. He never made direct eye contact with Meadowpaw, often opting to watch his paws with unnecessary vigor and attentiveness. Though Duskpaw never dared to look up and see for himself, he wondered if she was even blinking, or if she'd died staring at him.

With a light shake of the head, Duskpaw turned away from Meadowpaw again, opting to look at the more lively and optimistic scene unfolding in the hollow. Though shaken by Meadowpaw's horrific incident, clan life went on. The plain gray tom watched Stonepaw with Sunpaw, who'd left the company of Quailstar by then, plopped in a narrow slice of shade sharing tongues; Duskpaw was certain they were avoiding picking the ticks off of Lightspeck and Finchtail, ThunderClan's two elders.

Then he noted Smokepath walking with Beechheart, a younger she-cat with pretty cream fur and brown accents. That sight left a bitter taste in Duskpaw's mouth. It was evident that Smokepath and Cedardapple didn't work out and probably never would, but to see his father with Beechheart was upsetting to him and he wondered if Nightpaw and Moonpaw felt the same.

Duskpaw felt his shoulders slump, then she spoke, her meow raspy and half-hearted, but tinged with curiosity. "What are you looking at?"

Duskpaw stiffened, his posture immediately correcting itself and his fur bristling somewhat. "Nothing." He told her, twisting around to meet her stare once again. "Just what everyone's doing."

He didn't think she'd keep talking to him, but Meadowpaw did. "Do you see Moonpaw or Hazelpaw? Or my mother, Rosewater, is she there?" The poor white she-cat asked, hopefully.

A pang of sadness erupted within Duskpaw at her words, but he was truthful. "I don't see any of them, sorry, Meadowpaw."

Meadowpaw drew in a quiet sigh. "That's alright. I know Moonpaw's probably out with her mentor and after what I did last night, I doubt that Hazelpaw would want to see me anyway." She straightened her body in her temporary nest. "As for Rosewater, I know she wants to see me; she was so smothering that Brightfur had to make Cedardapple take her on a hunting patrol this morning, and I'm sure she'll be dragged away again for a border patrol. You saw her yesterday night, didn't you? She was frantic over me, wouldn't let you or Brightfur do your jobs."

Truthfully, Duskpaw had hardly done anything regarding Meadowpaw the night before. He didn't know anything about what was happening to Meadowpaw and Brightfur wouldn't explain or teach him about it so he'd tried to stay out of the way instead. He probably should've paid more attention, but Brightfur had been so tense and snappy that he shied away from even observing. All Duskpaw knew was Meadowpaw had a convulsion in the forest and that he and Brightfur arrived at the very end of it.

Maybe he hadn't payed as good of attention as he should've because of the expressions of Hazelpaw and Moonpaw. Both looked scared out of their minds, their fur was so pushed out that they both looked nearly thrice their usual sizes and their eyes were as wide as the full moon in the sky. Duskpaw had watched them more than the horror that was Meadowpaw writhing in the undergrowth. He vaguely recalled Brightfur shouting Meadowpaw's name, trying to snap her out of it, while she attempted to restrain her without much success.

"Duskpaw?" Meadowpaw's quiet voice tore him from his memory. He blinked, refocusing on her and pushing his thoughts away for the time being.

"Y-yeah?" He stammered, somewhat embarrassed for being caught staring into nothing for however long.

"Can I ask you something?" The forlorn cat asked, burying her claws deep into her moss nest, her eyes casted downwards.

At first, Duskpaw merely nodded, but then he realized she wasn't looking at him and gave a verbal confirmation. "Of course, erm, I might not-"

Her question cut off his self-doubting add-on, almost like she already knew the rest of what he was going to say didn't matter. When she spoke this time, her gaze met his, cold and steely, ready for his hesitant honesty.

"Am I going to die?"

The soot-pelted tom's breath hitched to where he had to suppress a startled cough and his eyes bulged at the unexpected, harsh question. When Duskpaw didn't answer straight away, Meadowpaw spoke more.

"Please, just tell me the truth, Duskpaw," Meadowpaw said, "I don't trust Brightfur's answer. I asked her earlier before you came in and she told me I was going to be fine, but I don't believe her. If I was going to be fine, she wouldn't have left to talk to Grasswhisker. I think she lied, but I don't think you'll lie to me. I don't believe her, but I believe you."

"You shouldn't." Duskpaw muttered, still somewhat shocked and panicked over her question as his mind raced to find a way to properly answer.

Meadowpaw kept staring at him. "Maybe I shouldn't," she admitted, "but I do because Moonpaw thinks very highly of you. If she believes you are a great medicine cat, then I'll believe you're a great medicine cat, even if you haven't proven it to me, yet."

Duskpaw stiffened. "Moonpaw thinks highly of everyone, Meadowpaw. She only says that because she's my sister and probably the nicest she-cat in ThunderClan. I mean, she thinks Nightpaw hung the moon himself and you see all the things he does."

Her eyes darkened somewhat at Nightpaw's mention, but didn't go into her thoughts on his brother. "I don't care, she's my best friend and she thinks you're great, so I trust you to tell me the truth. Besides, we're nursery-mates, right? That has to count for something." She told him, earnestly.

Meadowpaw drew in a deep breath, "So am I? Am I dying, Duskpaw?"

"N-no-"

She growled at the apprentice, "That's not the truth! I know that I'm dying, Duskpaw! I know, I know, I know, I know! Why are you lying?" Meadowpaw cried out, "You know it, Brightfur knows it, and I know it! I'm dying!"

Duskpaw didn't know what to say, completely stunned at her outburst. Rage, hurt, and fear flashed violently in Meadowpaw's eyes as she stared at him, who couldn't find it in himself to look away. The soot-furred tom wasn't sure how long the charged silence, broken only by heavy breathing and the trickle of water further in the den, when he gained more company.

Moonpaw's warm, comforting scent wrapped tendrils around the den, suffocating the products of Meadowpaw's accusations and frustration. She didn't look very well groomed when Duskpaw finally looked away from Brightfur's patient to his sister. Bracken and other debris stuck out of her ruffled, disgruntled pelt, and a bead of dried blood had crusted over a small wound on her ear, but her eyes were still bright and pleasant. Moonpaw's tail was raised and curled in greeting, her big paws curling slightly, seemingly without her knowing.

"Meadowpaw! Duskpaw! How are you both?" She greeted, stepping closer to Duskpaw, who kept staring dumbly at her.

"Oh, hi, Moonpaw." He murmured.

"Hey." Meadowpaw greeted, her eyes lightening somewhat at the sight of her friend, only to darken once she peered behind Moonpaw.

Duskpaw wondered why, it was almost as though she expected Moonpaw to come with someone else. Maybe she wanted Rosewater to come instead?

If Moonpaw noticed their lackluster responses, she didn't show it. She remained friendly and positive in a way that Duskpaw only noted in his sister.

"I just finished training for the day and I thought the three of us could grab something to eat? Hazelpaw and Falconpaw went on a hunting patrol instead of battle training and brought back a ton!" Moonpaw looked happily at Meadowpaw, "They got some really good, plump-looking thrushes too! Hard to believe, right? It's nearly leaf-bare and they managed such a great haul!" Then she looked at her brother. "There's a few voles, too, Duskpaw. I know you like those!"

Meadowpaw sighed, "Moonpaw I'm not all that hungry and I'm not allowed to leave the den."

"Oh, that's not a big deal! I'll just get you something and we call all eat in here," Moonpaw said, cheerfully, "Do you mind if I join you and Meadowpaw for a bit, Duskpaw?"

Duskpaw tensed, "But Brightfur…" He trailed off, realizing Brightfur would probably never know if Moonpaw did visit for a little and his sister was a far better host than himself. Having her around would surely reduce the hard questions Meadowpaw had asked before her somewhat welcomed interruption and might lift Meadowpaw's spirits. Then Duskpaw would be able to relax a little.

The medicine cat apprentice reluctantly nodded his head. "Just let me come with. I wouldn't want you to have to carry three pieces of prey-"

"Duskpaw, of course you can come." Moonpaw purred, amusedly, beckoning him with her tail to leave the den.

As Duskpaw jumped to his paws, eager to get away from the cream-furred apprentice for even a short moment, Meadowpaw spoke before either could move towards the mouth of the den. "Is Hazelpaw mad at me?"

Moonpaw shook her head at her best friend, her gaze soft. "No. Hazelpaw's not mad at you, Meadowpaw. She could never hate you, she understands you're a little off right now."

Her tone turned accusatory, "Then why isn't she here? If she wasn't mad at me, surely she would've come to visit."

"She's with Nightpaw." Moonpaw said, "I'm sure she'll come see you later-"

A bitter scoff escaped the sick she-cat, "Right! Of course Hazelpaw will leave that flea-pelt to see me! Even when I wasn't trying to kill her she never left Nightpaw's side to say hi to me! What makes you think she'll want to see me now?"

Moonpaw sighed, "Meadowpaw… look, just let Duskpaw and I go get some fresh-kill. We'll talk a little more afterwards."

Meadowpaw growled a little, but didn't do anything else besides claw angrily at her bedding. The siblings took that as a signal to leave.

Duskpaw relaxed almost as soon as the evening sun hit his pelt. The atmosphere was so different in the clearing: cats everywhere were coming back from training and patrol to eat and share tongues, most upbeat despite Meadowpaw's plight. He spotted his brother with Falconpaw, Stonepaw, Sunpaw, and Hazelpaw, all with their own pieces of prey. Then there was Greenlily and Quailstar in the shade sharing a large but scrawny hare, talking quietly amongst themselves. He saw Cedardapple with Darkclaw, Mousenose, Thrushtail, and Dawnlight sat in a tight circle, speaking in causal tones about their days. Even the elders, Oaklight and Nettlesting, were out enjoying the fleeting warmth of leaf-fall.

Life felt normal in the clearing and Duskpaw nearly didn't remember anything he wanted to worry to Moonpaw about. Moonpaw's demeanor, however, was quickly shifting.

"Is she doing alright?" She asked, slowing her pace so they'd have a moment to talk before they picked prey.

Duskpaw looked down in discomfort, watching some stray leaves dance in the breeze of the unnaturally smooth stone. "I'm not really the cat to ask, Moonpaw," He muttered.

"You're a medicine cat, Duskpaw, I think I can trust you." His sister purred, some of her usual nature showing through her curtain of concern. Moonpaw's eyes gave him a stern look. "And don't tell me how horrible of an apprentice you are, I don't want to hear it. You're a great medicine cat, even if you don't know everything quite yet."

Duskpaw didn't deserve Moonpaw's unyielding faith in his non-existent abilities of being a medicine cat, but she didn't deserve Duskpaw's constant self-doubt either, but that didn't stop him from voicing his shortcomings to her. He stopped and kept his voice low, unwilling to face his clanmates, mostly Cedardapple, should they have heard what he responded with.

"Moonpaw, I only know a paw-full of very, very basic things: marigold has yellow flowers and can cure infection, burdock root can… uh, burdock root-"

Moonpaw nudged Duskpaw, "Hey, I know you know a lot more than you're giving yourself credit for. You might not know them off the top of your head yet, but you know them in your heart." She flicked her scratched ear, "see that? I forgot a really, really easy defense move when I was training with Falconpaw and I got nicked! Every cat forgets, especially apprentices. I'm a good warrior at heart and you're a great medicine cat at heart."

Duskpaw's pelt flushed with relief and embarrassment; Moonpaw had come into the medicine cat den with a bloody scratch and he had done nothing but make a fool of himself!

"O-oh! Sorry, Moonpaw!" He stammered. "I'll, um, chew up some marigold for that once we get back."

Moonpaw let out a purr of amusement, "See? You'll do fine!"

Duskpaw flicked his ear in irritation and grumbled, "I can do simple stuff, but I can't do very much for Meadowpaw."

Her eyes glinted like she didn't believe him, but she didn't push him much more. They got to the fresh-kill pile and Moonpaw nosed around until she found a fat thrush for Meadowpaw and a sparrow for herself, both birds dangling loosely by their feet from her jaws. She gestured for Duskpaw to pick something for himself with a nod of her head. Duskpaw easily spotted a good-looking vole and snatched it up, its body taking up the whole of his mouth.

The apprentices padded back to Meadowpaw's nest in the familiar darkness of the medicine den. Meadowpaw didn't greet them on their return, hardly acknowledging when Moonpaw dropped her thrush beside her nest. Duskpaw sensed some anxiety from Moonpaw at the lack of responses from her best friend as she plopped down beside Duskpaw, which he was almost grateful for.

Moonpaw and Duskpaw waited before they ate, coaxing a nearly unresponsive Meadowpaw to take a bite from the thrush. It was painful to watch the cream-coated she-cat chew her single bite. Duskpaw thought it looked like her jaw was a weak as a kit's, her efforts barely processing the morsel of meat as she tried to chew for what seemed like moons. Then, she started to swallow, which was, in Duskpaw's opinion, the worst part of the whole ordeal. When she swallowed, her throat muscles shuddered like they were in the grips of several spasms that resulted in the poor she-cat having to cough the thrush up several times to try again before she finally got it down.

Neither sibling pushed Meadowpaw to eat anymore, instead opting to eat their own prey in an uncomfortable silence. Moonpaw finished first, and Duskpaw had nearly finished his vole when his den got even more crowded.

Rosewater, Meadowpaw's mother, came barreling into the den, going straight to her daughter. Before Duskpaw could speak, Rosewater was fussing over Meadowpaw, frantically grooming the dirty fur around her mouth and eyes.

"Meadowpaw, are you alright? I can't believe that happened, first that beast and now this!" She looked sharply at Duskpaw, "Where is Brightfur? I need to know how she's doing."

"U-uh, Brightfur's at RiverClan camp right now-"

Rosewater's eyes blazed, her lithe russet and white frame bristling, "What? She left my daughter, her clanmate, her _patient_ unattended? For what?!" She bared her teeth at Duskpaw as though her leaving was his fault.

"She went to ask Grasswhisker on what else she should do for M-Meadowpaw, Rosewater. Brightfur wanted to know if he's seen anything like the head-shake she had-"

Rosewater shook her head fiercely, "That's terrible! She should've just sent you to Grasswhisker! What's she doing leaving Meadowpaw in your care? You're just an apprentice! What does she think this is? A thorn in Meadowpaw's paw?"

Moonpaw bristled at Rosewater, "No, she doesn't think it's nothing! Why else would Brightfur have left? Duskpaw is more than capable of caring for Meadowpaw until she gets back! She'll be here by moonrise!"

The warrior snarled, her ears pressed firmly against her skull. Duskpaw shifted uncomfortably at his sister's defense of him and tried to think of something that could possibly placate Rosewater, but came up with nothing.

Brightfur was brilliant, if she felt the need to go to another medicine for advice outside of a half-moon meeting, he knew it was serious. As kind as his mentor typically was she'd never gone to Grasswhisker, Bouldertail, or Reddawn for assistance before. He suspected it was so she didn't let other clans know something was amiss in ThunderClan or to preserve her well-masked pride in herself. Most clan leaders acted the same way for similar reasons, Duskpaw had noticed, and he feared what would happen when Brightfur wasn't around anymore and he was put in a similar position. Not asking for assistance could kill, but asking could cause a whole myriad of problems, especially in the heated climate with WindClan presently.

Instead of defending his ability to care for Meadowpaw in Brightfur's absence, Duskpaw merely told Rosewater she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted.

Rosewater glowered at him, "I'm her mother of course I'm allowed to stay as long as I want!"

Moonpaw glared at her friend's mother for assuming such things, but didn't retaliate. Duskpaw was tense over his decision; it was one thing to let his sister visit against Brightfur's orders, but Rosewater was another thing. Moonpaw hadn't had direct contact with Meadowpaw, but there Rosewater was, curled protectively around her kit, dedicatedly grooming her matting fur and going as far as to eat Meadowpaw's partially-eaten prey against Duskpaw's quiet, meek advice.

"I'm her mother," Rosewater hissed between bites of the plump mammal, "I can share prey with her if I'd like. She doesn't want anymore and I refuse to let prey go to waste so close to leaf-bare!"

Discreetly, Moonpaw and Duskpaw exchanged anxious glances, letting him know he wasn't the only one with a nervous, foreboding pang of horror in the pit of his stomach. While Rosewater ate, no one spoke and the den's air was uncomfortable and tense. Had Duskpaw had more confidence, he might have ordered Rosewater to leave; Brightfur told him he could command any cat, regardless of rank or clan, even leaders, to do whatever he asked as a medicine cat. Moonpaw seemed to wish he'd order Rosewater away too by the way she kept looking at him, her tail flicking against his side continuously.

Though he looked anywhere but Meadowpaw's and Rosewater's direction most of the time, he did sneak occasional glances at Meadowpaw. Duskpaw noted that she was licking her muzzle a lot and her head would lightly bob back and forth, her eyes closing part-way.

A light growl rumbled in Meadowpaw's throat, earning every cat's full attention.

Rosewater licked Meadowpaw's ears in concern, "Meadowpaw, are you feeling alright?"

Meadowpaw shook her head. "I think I'm going to-"

When she started to vomit, Duskpaw growled in frustration at himself. He should've known she was going to throw up! Duskpaw got to his paws without a word to get beech leaves to gather the throw-up off the floor of the den and the soiled moss from her nest.

He scanned the stash of herbs, pausing in concentration as he tried to remember which leaves were the beech. Duskpaw decided to take the first broad green leaves he found, praying to StarClan that he hadn't messed up – not that Rosewater, Meadowpaw, or Moonpaw would know that he did.

When Duskpaw turned back around, Moonpaw was watching on anxiously as Rosewater fretted over Meadowpaw, who swayed subtly in her nest with her eyes tightly shut. His eyes flickered to where Meadowpaw had vomited to see mostly foamy, bubbly bile and saliva along with the mouthful of thrush Moonpaw and he had coaxed her into eating earlier. The sight of it made his stomach curl and suddenly Duskpaw decided he didn't want to clean it up anymore. He turned around again and dropped the leaves that might've been beech sloppily amongst some other leaves and winced; he knew Brightfur would get on him about mixing leaves again in addition to failing to properly clean up after Meadowpaw. Duskpaw hesitated there, wondering if he should suck it up and clean up her spittle and vomit, but decided Brightfur's disappointment would be easier to bear and stared intently at their stash of herbs.

Duskpaw jumped at Rosewater's sudden snap, "Duskpaw! Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help Meadowpaw?"

"U-uh yeah! I… I'm just getting some… some," Duskpaw scanned the stash until his eyes fastened on a familiar white flower attached to a stem and some leaves, "some daisy leaves to help with, um, Meadowpaw's queasiness."

"Well hurry up!" Rosewater snarled at the apprentice, curling tighter around Meadowpaw's quivering form.

Relieved that no one questioned or corrected him on the true use of daisy leaves, which may or may not have been for what he was using it for, Duskpaw snipped off a few leaves from the stem and hesitantly padded to Meadowpaw's nest. He was careful to avoid the vomit and spittle splattered in front of the nest and deposited the daisy on a clean part of her nest.

He hoped eating the leaves whole was the right way for cats to use daisy, and told her to swallow the leaves. Meadowpaw shook her head in protest, "I can't."

Rosewater tried to talk her into eating them, "Meadowpaw, you've got to try if you want to get better. Just try one, for me?"

Meadowpaw didn't respond and her body suddenly stiffened in Rosewater's embrace. Her mother didn't seem to notice though, just Duskpaw. He watched her with rapt attention, unaware if Moonpaw had noticed yet.

It all happened so quickly after that. Meadowpaw's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body thrashed violently, making Rosewater jump away from her in alarm with a screech. Meadowpaw's jaws snapped and twisted around, attacking a non-existent enemy as her legs stiffly kicked around at an imaginary current, her claws unsheathed.

After the initial shock wore off that Meadowpaw was enduring another head-shake, Duskpaw's thoughts flashed back to Brightfur's orders. Rosewater had started trying to force Meadowpaw's convulsing body still, pressing her forepaws firmly on her shoulder blade and hip in an attempt to pin her, so Duskpaw shouted at her.

"Get off! Get off of Meadowpaw, get away from her, now!" Duskpaw snapped, finding his voice amidst the panic.

Rosewater stared wide-eyed at him, "no, are you crazy? She's going to hurt herself, I just need to make her stay still and she'll stop!"

Duskpaw hissed at her, "Brightfur said not to touch her if this happened again! Now get off of her!"

When Rosewater didn't move, Moonpaw joined in, "Duskpaw said get off! For StarClan's sake, Rosewater, stop it! You're making it worse!"

Moonpaw's words finally seemed to reach Rosewater. The red warrior reluctantly got off of the shuddering apprentice, but it wasn't enough. Meadowpaw's thrashing kept making her smack into Rosewater and Duskpaw nearly snarled for her to get away from her again, but she had the sense to join him and Moonpaw at a safer distance.

"What in StarClan's name is going on here?" Quailstar's voice thundered in the den, ricocheting off the walls and making Duskpaw jump again.

All the yowling had attracted the rest of ThunderClan, the chaos of Meadowpaw's head-shake easily over-taking sharing tongues and eating prey. A variety of ThunderClanners had poked their heads into the den, most recoiling at the sight of one of their own lost in the throes of something none of them could understand.

The warriors, however curious, had let their leader through without a fuss. Quailstar's body made the space all the more cramped, but Duskpaw hardly noticed, his mind racing to find something to tell Quailstar and something to do to stop Meadowpaw's head-shake.

StarClan, Duskpaw wished Brightfur was there.

"Meadowpaw's having a head-shake!" Moonpaw supplied, looking between her friend and clan leader a few times, "the last one Meadowpaw had didn't last all that long, I bet this one will be over soon and she'll be okay again."

Duskpaw could tell Moonpaw was doing her best to keep herself together. He could only imagine how terrible it would be to watch some cat you cared for have head-shake after head-shake like Meadowpaw was having. This was the first one Duskpaw had ever witnessed and it was hard enough to watch as is, had he been closer to Meadowpaw… he didn't want to think about how hard it would be to keep a clear mind and act rationally.

Quailstar ducked out of the den after that, giving orders to Darkclaw, Beechheart, Foxstep, and Sunpaw to get Brightfur from RiverClan. Then he called the eavesdropping cats away from the medicine den, much to their dismay.

Duskpaw recognized a few voices.

"We deserve to know! What if that starts happening to the rest of us?" Pebblepelt's meow rang out, supported by growls and yowls of agreement.

"What if we need to watch? It could be StarClan trying to communicate with us!" Called Dawnlight.

There were more points that rang out in the ThunderClan camp, but Duskpaw tuned them out. He could catch up on what was happening later. Meadowpaw's situation was more pressing even though there wasn't anything he could do.

Rosewater wasn't doing well, watching on with anguish and pain in her gaze, watching her daughter's head-shake helplessly.

"How many more of these will she have?" Rosewater cried, looking to Duskpaw for an answer.

Duskpaw continued to watch Meadowpaw thrash, unable to look Rosewater in the eye. "I don't know."

He was grateful when Rosewater didn't ask anything else and Moonpaw kept quiet.

The den was silent for what felt like moons until Duskpaw felt it necessary to ask Moonpaw, "Did the last one take this long?"

Miserably, Moonpaw shook her head, "no it didn't."

Frustrated, Duskpaw was almost tempted to try to pin Meadowpaw down until she stopped too, but he held back. It was bad enough that he didn't follow most of anything Brightfur told him to do when she left, he didn't want to mess things up more than they already were.

Then it just stopped. Meadowpaw's body relaxed, her eyelids fluttered and her eyeballs rolled back into place. Her breathing evened out, her abdomen rising and falling at a typical pace that made Duskpaw's shoulders sag in relief; she wasn't dead. Meadowpaw didn't die on his watch, thank StarClan she was alright.

The only thing was, Meadowpaw wasn't normal when she eventually did get up with Rosewater's assistance. Despite the head-shake being over, Meadowpaw's head still swayed like her neck wasn't strong enough to support it properly and her eyes were glazed over and didn't seem to concentrate on anything. But the eyes and the head swaying wasn't what made Duskpaw's heart fall into his stomach.

Her mouth. Her jaw was just hanging open, saliva quickly gathering on the fur around her mouth and beginning to dribble in little beads to the floor.

"Is she alright?" Moonpaw asked Duskpaw quietly.

Duskpaw tried to catch Meadowpaw's eye, but her eyes still didn't seem to be focused. He wondered if she could even see him.

"Meadowpaw?" Duskpaw tried, searching for any sign that she heard him.

Meadowpaw's failure to respond earned a cry from Rosewater, who was supporting her body enough for her to sit up.

He turned to Moonpaw, his eyes dim, and shook his head. "No, she's not."

 **Hi guys! I'll admit, I'm not thrilled with this chapter and part of the reason it took a month to get this one out was because I kept agonizing over it! But you know what? I'm just going to go with it and try to make the next chapter better :) Anyways, I'm going to TRY (not guaranteeing) to get another chapter out before I go to college on the 22nd, but I'm not promising anything.**

 **And, I finally got around to reading the first three books of the "Vision of Shadows" series and I'm about ready to bang my head into a wall (even though I love it and am eagerly awaiting the fourth book)! Why did SkyClan have to come back that totally ruins my story universe! Gah! If I knew for certain where their territory will be on the lake I'd just edit that clan into the story, but I don't and won't know until November when the next book comes out so I'm just going to pretend that SkyClan never came to the lake because by the time that comes out I'll (hopefully) be well into the story and won't want to include them! So I hope that's okay with you all!**

 **Oh and one last thing. I've got every main cat's warrior/medicine cat name planned out except for Nightpaw's and I can't find a name that I think suits him well that I just love. So if you guys could comment some names for Nightpaw that would be fantastic! I'll either just pick my favorite or I'll set up a poll on my account for you all to vote on once I get some name suggestions for him. Thanks!**

 **-Jay**

 **Responses:**

 **I-really-hope-not: Yeah Hazelpaw's a lucky duck! We'll have to see if that luck sticks around for her... And my endoscopy went well, thank you! I have a very high eosinophil count in my stomach (it's causing eosinophilic gastritis) and I'm on a TON of antihistamines and am finally starting to feel better :)**

 **WarriorsErin: Thank you so, so much for giving my story a chance! I'm so glad you like it! Yes, Lyssa the wolf does have something to do with poor Meadowpaw's current predicament :)**


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